Fade to Darkness (Updates Every Sunday)
by Shuichi Akai
Summary: Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime] [Dark Fic]
1. Rebirth

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter I  
Rebirth  
Warnings: Character Death, Depictions of Corpses, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts**

Mary Akai and Tsutomu Akai had to admit that they were really worried about their younger child. Senichi had been born twelve minutes after Shuichi. He had been a loud baby at birth and was screaming as if he were in extreme pain. He thrashed around and wouldn't stay still in his parents' arms. It was only after he was exhausted did he finally quiet down and fall asleep.

But when he woke up, Senichi was quiet. He looked around the hospital room, taking in the details of the room. "Senichi?" Mary gently called. Of course Senichi didn't acknowledge her voice. He didn't understand that Senichi was his name yet. After all, he had been born just yesterday. "Tsutomu, I think something's wrong with Sen,"

Tsutomu carefully took the younger twin from Mary. "Hi there Sen. I'm your papa. That woman there is your mama and the little boy is your older twin brother, Shuichi,"

Senichi's blue eyes were filled with sorrow and pain. As he looked between the three people, confusion and shock were added to the mix. "Wah?" He frowned and licked at his toothless gums. Without teeth, he would have a hard time speaking coherently.

"We're your family," Tsutomu said. "Your name is Senichi, Sen for short,"

"Wo!" Senichi yelled in response and shook his head, as if he were refusing to be called by that name. He angrily pushed at Tsutomu's chest and pounded at the man's arms. "Wo! Wo! Wo!"

Unknown to Mary and Tsutomu, Senichi was not a normal child. Physically, people would perceive him as a normal blonde haired and blue eyed baby. Mentally, he was actually seventeen years old. Before he had been reborn as Senichi Akai, he was Michael Leo Field, an American teenager of Filipino descent, and a weebtaku. He was especially a big fan of _Detective Conan_.

In the Real World, he had come home from school only to be met with the sight of his house engulfed by an angry blaze. He had ran inside in an attempt to rescue his parents, ignoring the shouts of the firefighters that were attempting to extinguish the inferno. When he found his parents, it had been too late. Their corpses had been burnt to a crisp and the flesh was starting to melt from the bone, dripping as if it were water from an icicle in a desert. Their expressions were filled with horror, pain, and agony. Their mouths were wide open, having been screaming for help with their last breaths.

They were forever engraved in Michael's mind. He had been devastated at the discovery and had fallen to his knees. Even if he wanted to escape, falling debris had blocked his escape routes, trapping him with his parents' corpses. When the adrenaline started to wear off, he began to feel the intense heat and shrieked. The fresh scream pierced through the flames and was heard by the crowd of neighbors that had gathered at the scene. The flames around him roared wilder and circled around Michael like a hellish tornado.

After Michael had perished and Senichi was born, he still couldn't shake off the feeling of the flames biting at him, hence why he was screaming and squirming at birth. He hadn't registered that he had been reborn and was now a baby. It wasn't until he had fallen asleep and woken up did he finally realize what was going on. He didn't understand how the hell it was possible, but he had been reborn as Senichi Akai.

When Tsutomu had introduced himself and the others, claiming to be his family, Senichi was in denial. He screamed out "No!" though it came out as "Wo!" He didn't want to accept that his parents had died, that they were truly gone. He didn't want to accept that he had been reborn. He didn't want Tsutomu or Mary or Shuichi. He wanted Marinette Field and Adrien Field. He didn't want this new life. He didn't want a life without his parents.

XXX

Two days after Mary had given birth, Shuichi and Senichi were finally taken to their new home. Despite the fact that Senichi rejected his new life, his body had given in to drinking milk to survive. He may be seventeen mentally, but physical he was a newborn child. He didn't have as much stamina as a teenager and took several naps throughout the day. His days consisted of eating, sleeping, bathing, and playing.

The couple had purchased a developmental mat for Shuichi and Senichi. While Shuichi, being an actual child, was amused by it, Senichi was bored and uninterested, instead opting to stare out the closed window's glass, engrossed with his thoughts. _'Why was I given another life? Were Mom and Dad also reborn in this world? If so, did they fall in love again? Shouldn't I be reborn to them? There's nobody named Senichi Akai in canon. Why was I reborn as Akai's twin brother? It doesn't make sense,' _Senichi curled up into a tight ball, tears falling. _'It's not fair…'_

Shuichi stopped playing and crawled over to Senichi, wrapping his arms around his twin and giving him a hug. "Ah?" Even though he was only a few weeks old, Shuichi was already acting like a big brother and comforting the younger boy.

"Senichi, please don't be sad," Mary and Tsutomu knelt down beside the two babies. This was the first time since the day of his birth that Senichi cried.

_ 'I want to go home…' _

XXX

After a few months, Senichi finally came into terms that he would be stuck in his situation. He tried to continue on living as a baby, but it was just so hard. He kept trying to be thankful that he was given a second chance at life, but the survivor's guilt was eating away at him. Some days he imagined himself falling from a high place and smashing his head to the ground. If he died, would he move on to Afterlife and reunite with his parents? Or would he just be reborn into another world?

Senichi frantically shook those thoughts away. _'Mom and Dad would be happy for me! They'd want me to live a happy life!' _That's what he kept telling himself, but the dark thoughts kept on coming back from time to time.

On some days, Senichi would just mope around. Other days, he'd try to fulfill his role as a child. There were times when he was excessively sleepy and fatigued, yet insomniac. Sometimes he had a large appetite while other times he had no appetite at all. He forced himself to consume at least the bare minimum amount of milk to keep his stomach from growling and to live on to the next day.

Mary and Tsutomu, who were still pretty new to parenting, tried to keep Senichi's mind occupied, presenting him with a variety of toys and giving him and Shuichi lots of attention. Senichi didn't care for the toys and pushed them all towards baby Shuu who gladly accepted them. It was only when Senichi managed to find the box of art supplies that Mary and Tsutomu were going to let the twins play with when they were older did Senichi actually do something different.

By six months old, Senichi had managed to regain some motor skills. He was able to walk around for a while before falling onto the carpeted floor. His parents were overjoyed that he had learned to walk at such a young age. From what they've read on the internet, babies tended to take their first steps between nine and twelve months. Senichi managed to pick up and carry lightweight objects but had the most control over his writing and drawing skills, hence why he had decided to go after the pencil and paper in the art supplies.

Mary held Shuichi in her arms as she and Tsutomu watched Senichi draw. Drawing was Senichi's coping mechanism. He didn't have access to any manga but he did use his memories as references. The younger twin drew a pencil sketch of an adult Akai Shuichi. He didn't really know what else to draw and he _was _in the Detective Conan World. Besides, it wasn't like they would be able to tell that it was Shuichi in thirty something years.

The thing he hadn't taken into account was the quality of his work. Senichi's sketch did _not _look like it was done by a six month old. In fact, it looked like it was done by someone much older, which was kinda true since he was mentally seventeen but nobody knew that. The parents hung the drawing up on the refrigerator as where all childhood artworks would be presented on as if it were a museum display. The parents were quite impressed by the drawing but parenthood combined with work was very tiring and many things slipped by the exhausted parents' minds, hence why they didn't really question Senichi's skill.

Six months old was also the earliest age where babies tended to say their first words. Shuichi's first word was "Mama" and his second word was "Dada." Mary was overjoyed. Tsutomu was also happy, though he was a _teensy_ bit jealous. This prompted him to urge Senichi to call him "Papa." Senichi had tended to stay silent, not wanting to humiliate himself by babbling nonsense. Although he kept track of the date and time, he had little to knowledge of babies. He was growing annoyed by Tsutomu's continual insistence. Apparently they counted his first attempts at saying "no" when he was born as baby gibberish.

Senichi looked at Tsutomu straight in the eyes and grinned mischievously. "Shiwba buwwet,"

Tsutomu was silent for a few moments before he started to panic. Honestly, Senichi was certain that Shukichi got his carefree side from Tsutomu. "MARY!" Tsutomu stumbled into the bedroom where his wife had just finished changing Shuichi's diaper.

"Tsutomu, not so loud!" Mary scolded.

"Dada," Shuichi called towards the man.

"Oh my gosh, Shuu-chan you are so cute!" Tsutomu cooed before shaking his head. "Mary, Sen-chan just said his first and second words!"

"You look like you're conflicted between happiness and worry," Mary noted.

"Mama?" Senichi waddled into the room with an innocent expression.

Mary glared at Tsutomu. "You _left _Senichi alone in the living room!? He's already up and walking! What if he got hurt!?"

"I—" Tsutomu sighed and picked Senichi up. "Sorry, I panicked,"

"What's wrong?" Mary asked, this time her tone gentler. "It's not like you to act like this,"

"Sen's first words were silver bullet," Tsutomu answered. "I know for a fact that we never mentioned alcohol around him and Shuu,"

"Maybe he meant the silver bullet that kills werewolves," Mary brought up. "We sometimes talked about movies and books we've read while the babies are with us,"

"Y-Yeah," Tsutomu nodded and scratched the back of his head. "You're probably right. I'm overthinking it,"

"By the way," Mary smirked. "He called me 'mama' when he came into the room,"

"No!" Tsutomu groaned in defeat. "They both said 'mama' before 'papa!'"

XXX

Eventually, Shuichi started walking at about a year old. Unlike Senichi who took precise steps to a certain destination, Shuichi would wander around the entire house, intending to explore every nook and cranny. "Sen!" Shuichi tugged on his younger twin's arm. "We go!"

_'It's a miracle that I've managed to not go insane after all this time,' _Senichi thought as he gave in and followed Shuichi around the house under Mary's protective supervision. He was silent except for his footsteps and the sounds of him sipping his juice box. _'Now I know why Conan struggles to keep his intelligence in check, especially during cases. This is such a pain in the ass,'_

Although he hated being treated like a child, he was thankful that Mary and Tsutomu cared for him. If he had been reborn to neglectful or abusive parents, he would have most likely died a horrible death. He was a teenager mentally but physically he was too weak to protect himself. It had taken him a while to accept Mary and Tsutomu as his new parents, to understand that Marinette and Adrien were still his parents and that he still had room in his heart for another set of parents as well as siblings.

* * *

**This is my first Rated M story, mostly for the depictions of violence and gore I plan to include. It's a much darker OC Insert**_**. **_**Looking back at **_**Mitsuharu, **_**I realized that I didn't really give Haru much time to mourn his parents' deaths. He was just like "WTF, I just died!? Now I'm in the DC World!? Okay, let's just roll with it! Yeah, my parents just died, but I have new ones!" **

**This story is not related to the Kidnapped or Taken WIVerse in **_**Mitsuharu Shorts and What-Ifs. **_**Senichi will have a different personality from Haru. They are completely different characters that just happen to both be reincarnates of Michael Leo Field.**

**Everything is in western order and the language being spoken is English because this story takes place in England. Tsutomu just uses **_**chan **_**in a cutesy manner to address his children. When the story shifts to Japan, the names will be in eastern order and there will be more honorifics used. **

**Arc I will be focused on Senichi's childhood and will be Rated K+ to T. Arc II and III is when things start to get darker and Rated T to M.**


	2. Haneda

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter II  
Haneda  
Warnings: Nothing really, just jealousy and guilt**

Shuichi and Senichi were two years old. It had been two years since Michael Leo Field died, since Senichi Akai was born. Senichi's state of mind had slowly healed over time, though dark thoughts would form from time to time. Being surrounded by a loving family helped, even if they didn't know about his trauma. Senichi wasn't sure if he'd ever tell them about his past life. How would they react? Would they call him crazy? Would they disown him? Would they call him a freak?

He was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the doorbell ringing, followed by welcomes and footsteps. As the footsteps got louder, Senichi looked up from his sketchbook while Shuichi was still playing with his construction toys and pretending to building something. There three people with Tsutomu: a man, a woman, and their young son. The boy seemed to be a few years older than Shuichi and Senichi, probably around six years old.

"Shuu, Sen," Tsutomu addressed. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine,"

"Hi!" Shuichi enthusiastically greeted while Senichi silently waved a hand half-heartedly.

"This is Yasuharu Haneda. He's like a brother to me," Tsutomu introduced.

"Brother?" Shuu asked. "Like Sen?"

"Yes, like you and Sen," Tsutomu nodded. "The person beside him is his wife, Ichiyo Haneda. The boy is their son, Kohji," He turned back to his friends. "These two are my sons, Shuichi and Senichi,"

Senichi was slightly surprised. _'I thought he would be younger than me and close to Shukichi's age. The photo of him in the articles that were shown in the anime and manga made him look to be between his late teens and mid-twenties. Then again, that image was seventeen years before The Big Shrink. Akai was fifteen and Shukichi was eleven at the time of his death,'_

Kohji seemed a bit saddened. "I thought Uncle Tsutomu's kids were gonna be older. I was gonna play shogi with them,"

"What's shogi?" Shuichi questioned.

"It's basically Japanese chess," Senichi answered, articulating his words clearly. He didn't know much about shogi but he knew it wasn't exactly like chess and had some different pieces, but it was similar enough to just call it Japanese chess.

"You're a smart boy," Yasuharu gently ruffled Senichi's hair. "What are you drawing?"

"Family portrait," Senichi hummed as he started adding light shading in the shadow areas.

"That's amazing!" Ichiyo commented once she saw the paper. "Who taught you how to draw?"

"I draw too!" Shuichi picked up a messy crayon doodle he had done yesterday for everyone to see.

"That's very nice," Ichiyo smiled.

"Do either of you know how to play shogi?" Kohji asked the twins.

"Nuh-uh," Shuichi shook his head. "Is fun?"

"Everyone has different interests," Senichi said to his brother. "Some people find it fun while others claim it's boring,"

"Those are pretty big words you're using," Tsutomu chuckled. "Who taught you them?"

"Self-taught," Senichi was starting to grow uncomfortable with all the attention on him. Wanting them to change their focus, he pointed at Shuichi and blurted out, "Akai built a big house!"

"Uh-huh!" Shuichi nodded energetically. "I make big house!" He started describing his pretend creation in toddler talk.

Kohji walked over and sat down in front of Senichi. "You called him by your guys' last name. Why? He's your twin so you should call him by his name,"

"Force of habit," Senichi mumbled, though he was pretty sure that Kohji heard him. _'It feels so _degrading _to be speaking as a two year old. I really should be careful of what I call Akai though. In the Real World, I always called him Akai rather than Shuichi. He's one of the characters that felt weird calling by their first name,'_

"You're smarter than you look," Kohji smiled. "Wanna to play shogi?"

"I can't read kanji," Senichi told him. "But I can play chess,"

"I have a chess set too!" Kohji dug into his backpack and took out the aforementioned item.

While they played, Senichi was genuinely enjoying himself. He didn't hold back on playing. Kohji was actually quite skilled for someone his age. Senichi knew how to play chess but he never really had anyone to play with. Tsutomu and Mary treated him like a child and Shuichi was too young to understand the rules. Even back in the Real World, Michael didn't really play chess. If he ever did, it tended to be online chess.

_ 'Kohji will die when Akai is fifteen,' _Senichi thought. _'I don't want him to die. I need to establish connections and somehow fake his death. That way Tsutomu will still investigate his 'death' and I'll have to fake his death too. The case is what caused Akai to join the FBI. I want Kohji and Tsutomu to live but the FBI will be severely weakened without their Silver Bullet. It will also alter the plot greatly,'_

Kohji and Senichi were so engrossed in their chess battle that they hadn't realized that the others were now watching them. Eventually their game ended with Kohji as the winner. "You're really good,"

"You too," Senichi nodded.

Shuichi pouted at the sight of his brother and Kohji getting along. "_My_ brother!" He wrapped his arms around Senichi and glared at Kohji.

For the first time in the two years of his new life, Senichi laughed.

XXX

The Haneda's joined them for dinner. The meal was macaroni and cheese with hamburger meat mixed in. "So how long is your vacation?" Tsutomu asked.

"About two weeks," Yasuharu answered.

"Vacation?" Senichi questioned. "You don't live in England?"

"Nope," Kohji replied. "We live in Japan,"

"So you speak fluent Japanese?" Senichi inquired.

"Hai,"

"I know a few words like ohayo, baka, and arigato," Senichi listed. "I think 'Ore wa Akai Senichi' is how to introduce myself,"

"Did Uncle Tsutomu teach you those words?" Kohji asked.

"I was going to start teaching them Japanese when they start elementary school," Tsutomu denied. "I don't know where Senichi learned those phrases. He also knows how to play chess,"

"He's a prodigy," Ichiyo said. "Hey Senichi, will you become a professional chess player? Kohji's dream is to become a professional shogi player,"

"I'm gonna achieve all seven titles!" Kohji declared. "Osho, Kio, Oza, Oi, Kisei, Ryuo, and Meijin!"

"Shuichi, are you full already?" Mary noticed that her older son had stopped eating. "You barely touched your food,"

"Not hungry…" Shuichi mumbled.

Senichi looked towards his twin brother and he could see the green orbs filled with jealousy. _'Earlier he was also glaring at Kohji because I was talking with him. Is Shuichi getting jealous? All this attention I'm getting…' _He sadly looked down at his hands. _'It was never meant for me. In the original timeline, there was no Akai Senichi to steal it away from Akai Shuichi. Everyone is praising me for these 'accomplishments' but I did nothing to earn that praise. It was all knowledge from my past life. Shuichi worked hard to learn how to do everything that's normal for his—our—age, and I'm overshadowing him. It's unfair,'_

"Hey Shuichi," Senichi called. "Can you tell me about the house you built earlier?" Even though he really didn't care about the imaginary things Shuichi built, him being interested in it made his brother happy.

Shuichi's face instantly lit up. "It's _really _big and with lots windows and pool and…"

About twenty minutes later, the twins had fallen asleep. "Shuichi and Senichi are really tuckered out," Mary held both in her arms. "Senichi doesn't tend to sleep unless it's time for a nap or bedtime,"

XXX

"Today we'll be going to the amusement park!" Tsutomu announced. "I'm sure the kids will love it!"

"Park?" Shuichi smiled. "Yay, park!"

"Even better than a normal park!" Senichi was really eager to go to the amusement park.

"It's got lots of games and food and rides!" Kohji excitedly told his cousins. "It's really fun!"

"Yay! Fun!" Shuichi cheered. "Park is fun!"

The car ride was filled with all three children's excited chatter. Once they got to the amusement park, the trio could hardly keep still as they waited in line to purchase day passes and scrips. Tsutomu and Mary had to carry their kids in their arms to stop them from running off. They soon entered through the amusement park gates.

The first ride they went on was the merry-go-round. Ichiyo volunteered to take photos while the three other adults rode with the kids. Senichi grinned widely with glee. If he were physically seventeen, the carousel would've seemed quite boring. However, since his body was that of a toddler, the ride seemed faster and more exciting to him. It was a great change of pace than his normal day to day routine as a toddler. Senichi enjoyed the other attractions too. He and Shuichi rode on several small roller coasters for toddlers. They spun around on the spinning teacups and gently sat back on a boat ride, watching the animatronics as they passed by.

They decided that it was time to eat when their stomachs started growling. Senichi and Shuichi munched on small pieces of apples, French fries, hotdogs, and pizza with ice cream for dessert. Of course they were still two years old so their appetites were sated faster than the adults and six year old.

At one of the game stalls, Shuichi saw a large German shepherd plushy that he really wanted. The game was darts. Of course Senichi and Shuichi were both not allowed to throw the darts. Yasuharu, Kohji, and Tsutomu all tried to no avail. However Mary, being an MI6 agent, took a deep breath, aimed, and struck the center of the target. She then played another round and got another bull's eye. She won a plushy for each of her baby boys.

They decided to end the amusement park trip with one last ride: the Ferris wheel. The line was long and Senichi was starting to grow drowsy, but he forced himself to stay awake. It was finally their turn and Senichi was held in Tsutomu's arm so he could see out the window.

Senichi was enamored by the view of not just the amusement park, but the city around it. _'It's so pretty. I never thought the world could be this beautiful. In the Real World, I kept myself shut in my room except for school and important appointments. I never took the time to enjoy my surroundings. I…I really missed out on a lot in the Real World. Michael Leo Field's life revolved around the internet. But I won't let the same thing happen to Senichi,'_

By the time the ride had finished, all three kids had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day's activities. The parents carried them to the car and started driving home. "At first I thought that our sons wouldn't get along with Kohji well," Mary said. "But Senichi immediately clicked with him,"

"Shuichi didn't seem really fond of Kohji at first too," Tsutomu added. "But he started to get along with him,"

"Do you think that Senichi is really only two years old?" Yasuharu inquired.

"I can assure you that I gave birth to him and Shuichi two years ago," Mary said coldly.

"We know that he's two years old _physically_," Yasuharu corrected himself. "But it's just that sometimes I see it in his eyes. They seem to be filled with many different experiences far beyond two years of life. On the Ferris wheel he seemed a bit regretful and sad. I know you probably don't believe in reincarnation, but it feels like Senichi if one,"

"He _did_ know a lot for his age," Tsutomu added.

"It doesn't matter," Mary declared. "He's still our son, whether he is a reincarnate or just a normal boy like Shuu, I'll still love Sen,"

"You're right," Tsutomu nodded in agreement. "But if he is a reincarnate, aren't you curious about his past life?"

"If he is a reincarnate and has the memories of his past life," She gently ran a hand through Senichi's hair. "Then he'll tell us when he's ready. I won't force him to tell us,"

* * *

**So the adults suspect Senichi is a reincarnate or that he is a child prodigy.**

**Hiyori:  
So this is where you put this story, in the rated m section... you're right, in Mitsuharu, Haru immediately adjust to his new life, while in here you made Senichi slowly come to terms with his life and his death/former parents' death...**  
**Is this story going to be more serious/angsty than Mitsuharu's fluff humor but also serious genre?  
**

**Skai:  
There will be some family fluff in Arc I (Rated T). Arc II and Arc III (Rated T to M) will be the darkest part of story. Arc IV (Rated T) will not be as dark and the darker parts will probably be flashbacks.  
Arc I: Childhood  
Arc II: Mad Dog Arena  
Arc III: Crows  
Arc IV: Recovery**


	3. Preschool

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter III  
Preschool  
Warnings: Implied Animal Abuse**

"Honestly Tsutomu, I think you're acting the most childish," Mary rolled her eyes at her husband's behavior. "And Shuichi and Senichi are _three_ while you're a full grown man,"

"But they're our precious baby boys!" Tsutomu whined. "What if they cry when we drop them off!? What if they think we're abandoning them!? What if they ask for us but we aren't there!?"

Senichi walked up to Tsutomu and tugged on his pants leg. "Don't cry Papa. We'll only be gone for three hours twice a week,"

"Why is Papa crying?" Shuichi asked. "Is Papa a baby?"

"Yes, your papa is a baby who doesn't want you guys to go to preschool," Mary said.

"Papa and Mama not coming with us?" Shuichi began to tear up.

"Oh my precious baby boy don't cry!" Tsutomu hugged him. "Papa won't leave you!"

"Seriously, Tsutomu?" Mary groaned. "They need to interact with other kids their age,"

"I don't wanna go!" Shuichi sobbed against Tsutomu's chest. "I don't like preschool!"

_'I still can't believe that this kid is gonna grow up to be the FBI's Silver Bullet!' _Senichi sweat dropped. "Senichi, don't you wanna meet lots of new friends?"

"Friends?" Shuichi sniffled.

"Yeah, we'll meet lots of new people," Senichi smiled encouragingly. "We'll make a lot of friends. Don't you want more friends?"

"No!" Shuichi refused. "I have Sen and Ko!"

_'I'm not sure how Mary and Tsutomu convinced him in the canon timeline, but Shuichi seems really stubborn,' _Senichi walked into their shared bedroom and grabbed the polar bear plushy on his bed. While he didn't care about most baby toys, he loved his stuffed animals. The polar bear was the only thing he had refused to share with Shuichi, not that his parents forced him to. He returned to the living room and held it up in front of Shuichi. "Shuu-chan, don't cry! I'll protect you!"

"Fluffy?" Shuichi grabbed the plushy and hugged the bear tightly.

"You can hold onto Fluffy throughout the day, but you have to go to preschool, okay?" Senichi offered.

Shuichi hugged Fluffy even tighter. Senichi never let him hug it. Fluffy was really warm and soft. "'Kay," The older twin nodded.

"I'll stay by your side," Senichi added. "I'll protect you too,"

Shuichi pouted at that. "I'm the big brother! I'll protect Sen!"

"To protect me, you'll have to come to preschool with me," Senichi grinned.

XXX

They were in the front of the twins' classroom. Tsutomu was trying to stall for as much time with his kids as possible. "Do you have your backpack?"

"You can clearly see us wearing them," Senichi chuckled.

"Do you have your lunch and snacks?"

"Yes Papa," Shuichi nodded.

"What about your water bottle?"

"Yep,"

"An extra set of clothes?"

"Yep,"

"Indoor slippers?"

"Yes,"

"A comfort item?"

"Shuichi has Fluffy," Senichi replied.

"But what about you!?" Tsutomu panicked. "Mary, we need to go back home! Senichi doesn't have a comfort item! He needs it to help him stay calm!"

"I assure you, father," Senichi said. "I am perfectly calm,"

"Sen and I share Fluffy!" Shuichi added.

"Excuse me," The preschool teacher interrupted. "Class is about to start soon,"

"What about—"

"Mama, please knock him out," Senichi requested.

With a swift chop to the back of the neck, Tsutomu was out cold. "Bye Shuichi, Senichi," Mary kissed each of them on the forehead. "I love the both of you. Your father will be back to pick you up soon,"

"Bye-bye Mama!" The two waved as Mary dragged her unconscious husband to the car.

XXX

Preschool. Was. Boring. Senichi had to pretend that he was learning his numbers, shapes, and alphabet for the first time. He didn't want to garner too much attention or seem like he was an extremely smart child. That would result in him skipping grades and separating him from Shuichi, something he refused to let happen. It would be traumatizing to the toddler and who knows how it would affect his personality growing up? Would that make him jealous and grow to hate Senichi? Would he even become the FBI's Silver Bullet?

He made his handwriting seem messy by mimicking the way the other preschoolers held their pencils, pens, markers, and crayons. The only thing he refused to fake was his artistic talent for drawing. He was too prideful, one of his flaws, to force himself to draw messily. Once he finished the line work, he would add the color. Whether he was actually oblivious to the teacher's shock or just chose to ignore her reaction, he paid her no heed and waited for Shuichi to finish up the drawing he was doing before going to a different station.

Story time was actually enjoyable. Senichi loved listening to the preschool teacher read children's books. It felt so nostalgic. After story time was nap time. The kids all laid down on soft mats and slept. Shuichi made sure he was close to his twin brother so that he could "protect" him and share Fluffy.

It felt weird. After three years of living with the Tsutomu and Mary, it was odd to take a nap in a new place. He could also tell that Shuichi was a bit scared and heard his whimpering. Senichi moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, quietly humming a lullaby that Mary always sang to them. Shuichi calmed down enough to fall asleep.

XXX

_ "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Michael! Happy birthday to you!"_

_ Michael blew out the colorful candles atop the cake with a single breath. His parents took some frosting and put them on his face, something that they did during each other's birthdays. Michael laughed as he took the knife and cut the cake into pieces. _

_ The three spent the entire day together, celebrating Michael's seventeenth birthday. Michael opened up his presents which was a body pillow he had been planning to buy with the money he had saved up. When he realized the character on the pillow was Gin in a seductive pose, he turned bright red. "Mom…Dad…how did you know that I wanted…_this_?"_

_ "We asked you when you were half asleep," Adrien answered. "I had no idea what a dakimakura was or why you were mentioning an alcohol, but after some internet surfing, I thought you might've been referring to this. I mean, you do own action figures of him and several posters,"_

_ "Th…Thanks…" _

Senichi jolted up into a sitting position yet made no sound except for the gasp that escaped his lips. When he put a hand to his face, he felt fresh tears trickling down. He glanced around the room and his eyes fell upon the date written in large numbers on the top of the whiteboard. _'Today's date…it's my birthday. Well, it's _Michael's_ birthday. Three years…I can't believe that it's already been three years. I would've been twenty,'_

"Senichi, don't cry," Shuichi moved Fluffy's arms so that it wrapped Senichi in a hug. "Fluffy makes the bad dreams go away,"

_'I miss my family but I have to move on. A man dies when he is forgotten. As long as I don't forget the memories I had with them, then they'll live on inside of my heart,' _He wiped his tears away and smiled. "Thank you, Shuichi, Fluffy," For the rest of naptime, Senichi laid awake on his sleeping mat. He could tell that Shuichi was still very sleepy but was fighting it to comfort him.

XXX

The rest of the day had gone smoothly and soon parents were picking up their children. "SHUU-CHAN! SEN-CHAN!" Tsutomu scooped up his precious babies. "Are you alright? You both must've been so scared! Don't worry now, Daddy's here!"

"Yay, Daddy!" Shuichi hugged him back.

"Let's go home," Senichi said.

During the ride home, Shuichi told their father about all of the activities that they did. Thankfully, he didn't mention Senichi's tears from the dream he had during naptime. Once Tsutomu pulled into the driveway, he noticed a curled up figure in their yard. "Shuichi, Senichi, stay in the car," He ordered as he exited and slowly approached the figure.

It was a dog no, it was a puppy. It was small and skinny, covered in several wounds and missing patches of fur is some places. It looked like it hadn't eaten in days, its skin tight against its bones. The puppy was neither hostile nor aggressive. In fact, it shakily stood up and tried to back away, only to fall back down in exhaustion.

Tsutomu felt pity for the pup, but his family came first. He didn't know if it would attack Shuichi or Senichi. The puppy may be weakened but Shuichi and Senichi were only toddlers and wouldn't be able to defend themselves. Tsutomu heard the car door open and he whirled his head around to see Senichi exiting the vehicle. "Senichi what are you doing!? Get back inside!" He wanted to keep the puppy away from his boys until dog catchers from the pound arrived.

Senichi ignored his father and carefully approached the puppy. "Hey there boy," He gently called.

"Sen!" Shuichi scrambled out of the car and towards his younger brother, intending on protecting him from the puppy.

Senichi gently petted the puppy's head. The puppy let out a soft whine and laid his head on Senichi's lap. Senichi could see the fear and pain in the canine's eyes. "Let's get you cleaned up,"

Tsutomu snapped out of his daze. "We're not adopting it,"

"Him," Senichi corrected. "I'm not leaving him out here to die,"

Tsutomu saw the determined look in his younger son's eyes and sighed. "We'll get him cleaned up and give him some food. Tomorrow we're taking him to the pound,"

Tsutomu brought the puppy inside and to the bathroom where he carefully cleaned the puppy up, cautious of the wounds. He could see numerous scars now that he had a closer look, scars that were made by _weapons _and not by the claws of other animals. His blood boiled at the sight but he forced himself to keep his temper in check. His sons were watching him from the doorway.

Once the puppy was cleaned and his wounds were tended to, Tsutomu could identify him as a black German shepherd with bright blue eyes. He brought the puppy to the living room and quickly went to prepare some food. He had heard of situations where a starved dog will end up getting sick if it suddenly consumes too much food. The safest bet he had read online was feeding the dog one-third of what they would usually eat. He chopped up pieces of unseasoned meat and placed them in a shallow bowl alongside another bowl filled with fresh clean water. He set them down in front of the puppy.

The puppy didn't immediately eat or drink. Senichi once again gently petted him. "Of course you're scared. It's only natural. After all, you've been brought to a new place all of a sudden with people you don't recognize,"

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Tsutomu noted how his words caused Senichi to slightly tense up nervously. _'I shouldn't push the subject. Mary said he'll tell us when he's ready,'_

"At least eat one or two bites," Senichi pleaded. _'You're so young. At your age, you should still be with your mother. Did your abuser tear you away from them? I know what it's like to be torn away from family…' _He fought back against the tears as he started recalling his original parents' deaths. _'The world, _both _worlds, aren't fair…'_

The puppy started to eat a bit and drink some water. He then laid his head on Senichi's lap once again, let out a soft whimper. Shuichi crouched down beside his brother and started to pet the puppy too. "Puppy's sad and scared and lonely,"

Despite there being only one dog, Tsutomu was met with three pairs of puppy eyes. He groaned and gave in. "I'm not sure what Mary's going to think, but I guess we can keep him. He'll need a name though,"

"Sable," Senichi declared. "His name is Sable,"

"Yeah, he's Sable!" Shuichi agreed.

"Sable it is,"

When Mary came home a few hours later and was greeted by the sight of her husband and two kids sleeping in the living room with the new addition to the family. She smiled, took a quick photo, and then started making dinner.

* * *

**Sable is derived from the word saber which meant sword. In old English sable meant black, which is the color of the puppy's fur. **

**Hiyori:  
I just realized that Senichi is almost the same as Shinichi when pronounced lol xD poor Shuichi was jealous… also sad when Senichi think about his past life in the ferris wheel… now that the adults kind of know about Senichi's reincarnation, we'll have to wait for Senichi to break the news(?) to them**

**Skai:  
I did not notice that Senichi had a similar pronunciation to Shinichi. *sweat drop* I just googled male Japanese names beginning with S and chose Senichi because it sounded similar to Shuichi. As for Senichi breaking the news? Hmm…you'll have to wait and see next week. **

**EDIT 1.28.20  
Thank you Guest for pointing out the mistake in which I used Michael instead of Senichi.**


	4. Truth

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter IV  
Truth  
Warnings: Nothing really**

Mary was pregnant with Shukichi. At first, four year old Senichi thought that her mood swings were a result of her monthly and the weird cravings were her trying out new foods. It was only when Shuichi pointed out that their mother's tummy was getting really big did Senichi finally realize that Mary was pregnant with Shukichi. When Tsutomu and Mary finally told the twins that they were going to have a new baby sibling soon, Shuichi was very cheerful.

Senichi was worried and currently laid down on his bed, petting Sable who lain beside him. He had reacted to the news with a smile, but it wasn't a hundred percent happiness. _'I don't understand babies,' _He thought. _'I don't know how to be a big brother. I was an only child in the Real World. I never had any friends to look at as a younger sibling,'_

"Hey there buddy," Tsutomu stood at the doorway and gently knocked on the opened door. "I've noticed that you have something on your mind. Do you want to talk?"

"I'm fine," Senichi mumbled.

Sable stood up and walked over to Tsutomu, nudging him towards Senichi. "I think Sable wants me to talk to you,"

With a sigh, Senichi sat up. "Alright, let's talk,"

Tsutomu sat down beside Senichi and Sable jumped onto their laps, sprawling across the two of them. "So what's on your mind?"

"Mom's pregnant with Shukichi," Senichi stated.

Tsutomu blinked at the statement. "Shukichi? You've already decided on a name for your younger sibling? But we don't even know the baby's gender yet,"

"It's a boy," Senichi told him. "I'm sure of it,"

"Can you predict the future now?" Tsutomu joked.

Senichi turned towards his father. "Will I be a good big brother?"

Tsutomu immediately broke out into laughter. "Is this what's been eating you up all this time?"

"Oi!" Senichi smacked his father's arm. "I'm serious! What if I'm a bad big brother!? What if Shukichi hates me!? What if he gets hurt!?"

"Sorry, sorry," Tsutomu chuckled. "But I'm sure you'll be a fine big brother,"

"How can you be so sure?" Senichi asked.

"Well, even though Shuu's older than you by a few minutes, you are the one always looking after him," Tsutomu pointed out. "And I can tell that you're much ol—more responsible than him,"

"You almost said older," Senichi tensed up with nervousness. _'Does…does he know?'_

"We suspect that you have memories of your previous life," Tsutomu sighed. "But since you are apparently sure that your new sibling is a boy named Shukichi, I think that you're actually from the future,"

Senichi wanted to jump off the bed and run, but Sable was preventing him from escaping. _'He knows! He knows! He'll tell everyone else and they'll throw me out! They'll call me a freak! People are afraid of the unknown! I'll be experimented on!'_

"Sen, calm down!" Tsutomu brought him into a hug. "Take a deep breath. Breathe in, breath out. Please son, calm down,"

_'He still called me his son,' _Senichi inhaled deeply and then exhaled. _'Does he really still accept me? He doesn't know the full truth. He thinks that I was always meant to be born into this family,' _He gritted his teeth. _'I want to save Akai's family. I want to save Kohji and Tsutomu. I told myself to form connections over the years, but I doubt I'd be able to make enough by the time I'm fifteen. I can't save them by myself,' _He clenched his fists. _**'I'm weak…'**_

"We were waiting for you to tell us when you were ready," Tsutomu told him softly. "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry,"

"I don't want anyone overhearing," Senichi glanced at the wide open door. "Not even them,"

Sable jumped off of their laps and closed the door. He then leapt onto the bed, curling himself up in Senichi's blanket like a burrito. He let out a bark for Senichi to continue.

_'I swear he's not a normal dog…' _"Dad…do you believe in other worlds, like alternate universes?"

"There isn't much scientific proof of alternate universes," Tsutomu replied. "But I do think it's a possibility. Nothing is impossible. It just takes time to find the process to accomplish a goal,"

"You're right about me being reincarnated, about me having a past life," Senichi paused, taking another deep breath to calm himself down. "But I'm not from the future. In fact…Akai Senichi doesn't exist in the original timeline,"

"Original timeline?" Tsutomu quirked a brow, intrigued yet confused.

"I'm from another world, one where this world that you live in is fictional," Senichi explained. "In my world, the Real World, your world is just an anime and manga called Detective Conan. The Akai Family is not the main focus but they are important characters," He grabbed his sketchbook and a pencil. "I'll show you a quick sketch of the family," Within five minutes he was finished. "You and Mom have three children: Akai Shuichi, Haneda Shukichi, and Sera Mary,"

Tsutomu narrowed his eyes. "_Haneda _Shukichi?"

"She didn't cheat on you!" Senichi hastily added. "He gets adopted by Uncle Yasu and Aunt Chi,"

"Adopted!? Yasuharu steals my son!?" Tsutomu exclaimed.

"No!" Senichi groaned. "Kohji gets murdered while in the US for a chess tournament. You go to investigate his death but end up making terrifying enemies and order Mom, Shuichi, and Shukichi to flee to Japan and pretend that you don't exist. Shuichi moves to the US in order to become an FBI Agent and bring down the organization. He becomes the FBI's best agent, nicknamed the Silver Bullet. Shukichi becomes a professional shogi player and gains all eight titles, becoming known as the Taiko Meijin. Masumi, your daughter whom Mom was pregnant with at the time of your disappearance, becomes a high school detective,"

"What about you?" Tsutomu asked.

"I already told you that I don't exist in the original timeline," Senichi reminded.

"Sorry," He apologized. "I just can't wrap my head around the idea of a world where you don't exist. I believe you, but I can't imagine a world without you. It just sounds so…tragic. And then there's all these things you're saying happened in that world. Man, is our family cursed or something?"

"I'll give you time to process what I just told you," Senichi said. "We can continue this conversation later. But please, don't tell anyone. Don't tell Mom. Don't tell Shuichi. Don't tell Uncle Yasu. Don't tell Aunt Chi. Don't even tell Kohji yet since he's only eight years old at the moment. Don't tell _anyone_,"

Tsutomu wanted to inform the entire family so they could help prevent these events. He wanted all the help he could get. But seeing the seriousness and the pleading look in Senichi's eyes, he nodded. "I promise that I won't tell anyone,"

"Thank you…" Senichi's voice had finally broken and he started crying. "Thank you for hearing me out…Thank you for lifting some of this burden off my shoulders…Thank you for believing me…even though I'm not your s—"

"You _are _my son!" Tsutomu brought him into a tight hug. "The world you know about is a different world, one where you don't exist in. But we're not in that world. In this world, you _are_ my son. Don't go saying that you're not my child!"

"Papa…"

"Sen! Papa!" Shuichi opened the door and ran into the room. "Mama says dinner's ready!" He noticed Senichi's face was wet with tears. "Mama! Papa made Sen cry!"

Sable gave a disapproving bark towards Tsutomu.

"Tsutomu…" Mary slowly walked to the room, her voice calm yet deadly. "What did you do to Senichi?"

"I-I didn't mean to make him cry!" Tsutomu stuttered, unsure of how to respond since he made a promise to not reveal the truth. "I…uh…"

"Papa told me a sad story!" Senichi wailed. "Doggy died!" He shifted out of Tsutomu's hug to wrap his arms around Sable. "Why did doggy die in the story!?"

"D-Doggy died?" Shuichi also started crying and ran to Sable. "Sable don't die like doggy!"

"No! Sable isn't going to die!" Tsutomu tried to calm them down. "Ah, Mary I didn't mean to make them cry! I was just telling the story of Hachiko to Senichi!"

XXX

They eventually managed to get the twins to stop crying and proceeded to eat dinner. After bathing the two boys and tucking them into bed, Tsutomu and Mary were both ready to also sleep. "Tsutomu, what did you and Senichi _really _talk about?" Mary inquired. "He seemed much brighter than usual,"

"We just talked about how Sable was a good dog," Tsutomu lied. "I compared Sable to Hachiko and then Sen asked who Hachiko was. I told him about how Hachiko was a dog who stayed loyal to his master, even after his owner's death, and continued to wait for his owner's return until his own demise. He started crying and was worried that Sable was going to die too,"

_'I can tell he's lying, but I won't force him to tell me what they talked about,' _Mary thought. _'Whatever they spoke about, it helped Senichi. That's all that matters,'_

XXX

Tsutomu held both of his sons' hands as he led them into the hospital. "Why are we here?" Shuichi looked around nervously. "Are we getting shots?"

"No," Tsutomu reassured him. "We're going to meet your baby brother,"

"Baby brother?" Shuichi questioned.

"Yeah, your new baby brother," Tsutomu nodded as they arrived at Mary's room. He gently knocked before entering. "How are you feeling, Mary?"

"Exhausted," Mary smiled weakly while holding her newborn son.

Tsutomu picked up Shuichi in one arm and Senichi in the other. "Boys, say hi to your new baby brother,"

"Hi Shukichi," Senichi greeted. "I'm Senichi,"

"Shukichi?" Mary inquired. "Don't you think that name's too similar to Shuu's?"

"Sen said he's gonna be Kichi!" Shuichi said. "Kichi, I'm your big brother! I'm Shuu!"

Kichi giggled and reached towards his big brothers.

"Welcome to the family, Shukichi Akai,"

XXX

Senichi wanted to continue his conversation about The Truth with Tsutomu, but he could tell that it wasn't the right time. Taking care of a newborn baby was a lot of work. Thankfully Shuichi wasn't filled with jealousy like Senichi thought he'd be, and instead the twins helped care for Shukichi to allow Mary and Tsutomu some resting time. The parents still managed to incorporate a few minutes of one on one time with each of their elder sons so they didn't feel left out.

It took a while but Tsutomu finally had enough time and energy to talk about The Truth again. "I'm sorry we couldn't continue our discussion earlier,"

"It's fine. Babies take a lot of time and care," Senichi assured him. "Just so you know, you won't be getting any grandkids from me. They're too much for me to handle,"

"Do you have any plan to prevent Kohji's death?" Tsutomu asked.

"You need to form connections with people that will help you fake his death when the time comes," Senichi answered. "We can't let the rest of the family know. Shuichi needs the motivation of Kohji's death and your disappearance to help him become the FBI's Silver Bullet. Just don't make it obvious that you're gaining a network of agents otherwise the crows might go after you,"

"When should we tell Kohji?" Tsutomu questioned. "Right now he's eight years old, but I don't think he'd be able to keep something this big as a secret just yet,"

"In the manga, Akai was fifteen years old and Shukichi was eleven when they had to flee England," Senichi informed. "Since Akai is four years old right now, we have about eleven years to plan. We'll tell Kohji in five years, when he's thirteen,"

"Why do you address your brother by our surname?" Tsutomu inquired. "You address Kichi by his first name but Shuu by our surname,"

"It's just a habit," Senichi stated. "He is mostly referred to by his surname in the series,"

* * *

**So now Tsutomu will start making connections and preparing to fake Kohji's death in a couple years. **

**Hiyori:  
Senichi & Shuichi doing the puppy eyes with their new puppy lol xD  
Next week? Cool, I'll be waiting then :)**

**Skai:  
I couldn't resist that cute moment.  
Thank you for your patience. **

**Guest: ****  
"Michael, don't cry," Shuichi moved Fluffy's arms so that it wrapped Senichi in a hug. "Fluffy makes the bad dreams go away,"  
Michael? Not Senichi? **

**Skai:  
Thank you for pointing out the mistake. I changed it to Senichi.**


	5. Elementary

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter V  
Elementary  
Warnings: Panic Attack**

"Hey Papa," Senichi asked when they were alone again. "Mama said that Shuu and I are starting Year 1. Aren't we too young for first grade? First graders are six to seven years old. Shuu and I are only five,"

"First grade?" Tsutomu questioned. "Oh, did you perhaps grow up in the United States in your previous life?"

"Yeah," Senichi nodded. "I was born and raised in Hawaii. I've never been to the main land though,"

"England's a bit different from the US," Tsutomu informed. "From ages four to five is reception, which I guess is the equivalent to America's kindergarten?"

"But kindergarten is from ages five to six," Senichi pointed out.

"Like I said, England's a bit different from the US," Tsutomu repeated. "Year 1 is age five to six. Year 2 is age six to seven. Year 3 is age seven to eight. Year 4 is age eight to nine. Year 5 is age nine to ten. Year 6 is age ten to eleven. Then it's the end of primary school and the start of secondary school. Year 7 is age eleven to—"

"Okay, I get it," Senichi interrupted. "You don't have to explain all of the grades. How many are there anyway?"

"Thirteen," Tsutomu answered.

"So I'll have to pretend to not know the lessons well until Year 12 and Year 13 where I will actually start _gaining _knowledge," Senichi groaned. "Well, technically we'll be moving to Japan when Shuu and I are fifteen. That'd be ninth or tenth grade depending on if it'd be later into a school year or early in the next one,"

"By the way, I've noticed that you use my laptop a lot when I'm not using it," Tsutomu noted. "And you even made an account just for yourself. What do you do on it?"

"I read manga and watch anime," Senichi answered. "I am a bit upset that I have to wait a few days for the manga to be translated into English. I can't read Japanese,"

"Would you like me to teach you and Shuichi?" Tsutomu offered. "Knowing more than one language is useful,"

Senichi's eyes lit up like fireworks. "Yes!"

XXX

In Year 1, Senichi and Shuichi were in the same class. They were taught to recognize, name, and write all twenty six letters of the alphabet in uppercase and lowercase. The only problem Senichi had was he pronounced Z as the American zee rather than the British zed. He also had a bit trouble adapting to British spelling. It was a habit of his that he had yet to break and was the only thing he really had to work on.

They were also taught how to write, order, and count up to the number thirty as well as add and subtract small numbers. They were taught to name and describe shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles as well as sort them by color, size, and shape. They were beginning to learn a bit about time and seasons.

XXX

In Year 2, Senichi and Shuichi were told that they were going to be in separate classes. Shuichi immediately grew angry and frustrated. "Papa, Mama, I want to be in Sen's class!"

"Shuu, Sen, we both think that it's best if you two had different classes," Mary told them. "That way people will see you as two individuals rather than as the Akai Twins. You both will be able to make your own friends,"

"But I can't protect Sen if I'm not with him!" Shuichi argued.

"Shuichi," Senichi said. "I'll be fine,"

"I'm your big brother!" Shuichi pointed out.

Senichi gave him a blank look. "You're literally only a few minutes older than me,"

Shuichi eventually accepted the fact that they would be in different classes, though he was still unhappy about it.

XXX

Mary and Tsutomu first took Shuichi to his classroom. After telling him that they'd pick the both of them up later on and Senichi reassuring him that he'd be fine, the parents dropped Senichi off at his class. Senichi grinned and waved enthusiastically as they left. Once they were out of sight, Senichi turned to the classroom.

Suddenly, he felt dread welling up. Despite the fact that he was right in front of the classroom door, it felt like it was miles away. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and sweat had already begun to coat his forehead and hands. Senichi forced himself to reach out and turn the doorknob. He took a step inside and silently wandered the classroom until he found his seat with his name on it.

_'W-Why am I acting like this?' _Senichi asked, his body trembling like a leaf on a windy day. _'Why am I so dizzy?' _He clenched his eye shut and gripped the front of his shirt. _'My chest hurts too…'_

"Hey," A six year old boy sitting beside him put a hand to Senichi's shoulder. He had short, spiky, messy, black hair and pale grey eyes. He didn't look British at all and instead had Italian features. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Senichi's throat fell tight. "I'm fine…" He glanced around the classroom, searching for any signs of his parents or brother. Of course neither of them were present at the moment.

"I need you to slow your breathing," The boy said. "Can you breathe with me? Let's inhale," He inhaled slowly.

Senichi nodded and followed the boy's action.

"Now let's exhale," The boy continued. "Let's do this ten times, okay?"

Senichi nodded once again and they slowly inhaled and exhaled while the boy counted each breath out loud until they reached ten. Senichi had managed to calm down. "I…"

"Are you feeling better now?" The boy questioned.

"Y-Yeah…" Senichi nodded. "Thank you…"

"It's nothing," The boy smiled. "My name's Alistair Rei. You?"

"Senichi," He rasped out. "Senichi Akai,"

"Oh, are you Japanese?" Alistair inquired. "But you look British?"

"Half," Senichi mumbled. "Mama's British and Papa's Japanese,"

"Wow, we're very similar," Alistair commented. "I'm mix too. Mamma's half Italian and half British. Papà is full Italian,"

Before they could continue their conversation, class began.

XXX

When the end of the first day of Year 2 came, signified by the bell, Senichi practically sprinted out the doors. He hurriedly looked for his parents and brother and rushed to them, crying tears of relief. "Mama! Papa! It was so scary without you or Shuu or Kichi!"

Shuichi had the opposite experience and had gained new friends. Once he saw his brother crying, he waved goodbye to his friends and then ran over to his family. "Sen, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Senichi wiped his tears away with his sleeve and tried to change the subject. "I…I made a new friend! His name was…uh…"

"Alistair Rei," The Italian-British said as he walked past the family.

"Yeah!" Senichi nodded. "Alistair's my new friend!" _'I don't want them to worry. It's not like my life was in any danger so it doesn't matter if they don't know,'_

XXX

"Okay Sen," Tsutomu said once they were both alone. "What's really wrong? That wasn't like you and I could tell that it wasn't you acting,"

"I-I just think I was feeling sick," Senichi stuttered. "I was a bit dizzy and shaking. My chest was hurting and I was sweating a lot,"

Tsutomu put a hand to Senichi's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever,"

"My sickness went away as soon as school was over," Senichi claimed. "I must be allergic to school," _'Okay, I know that's the dumbest conclusion ever but what else could it be?'_

"Maybe it was a panic attack," Tsutomu suggested. "Those do seem like symptoms of one,"

"But why would I be panicking?" Senichi scoffed. "It's not like it's my first time ever to school. Though, I was all alone. You and Mom weren't there. Neither were Shuu or Kichi…"

"It's your first time being alone," Tsutomu told him. "Sure, you've been alone in a room in the house, but you could've always gone to one of us if you wanted company. But now when you go to school, you and Shuu are in separate classes. You're truly alone,"

"That kinda explains it," Senichi groaned. "I kinda like being alone sometimes but not in a new place. At least Alistair helped calm me down,"

"I guess you weren't lying about him being your friend then?" Tsutomu asked.

"I mean, we did talk a bit in class," Senichi shrugged. "I don't ever remember having a friend before,"

"Not even in your past life?" Tsutomu frowned when he received a nod. "How old were you when you died?"

"Seventeen," Senichi answered. "I don't remember anything before high school though, so I might've had a friend," _'Even before being here for six years, back in the Real World I couldn't remember anything before high school. Why though?'_

XXX

The rest of the school year went by smoothly, though Senichi still struggled using British spelling. He was just so used to the American style such as color, analyze, and center instead of colour, analyse, and centre. After using American spelling for seventeen years, it would take a while to break the habit. Tsutomu gave tips to Senichi on how to calm himself down during a panic attack. Alistair was a great help too.

Shuichi and Senichi's seventh birthday was coming up and they were allowed to invite their friends over. Senichi gladly invite Alistair who accepted. Shuichi invite Emma, a young French girl with bright blonde hair and dark brown eyes, and Avery, a young British boy with messy dark hair and bright blue eyes.

"Hello Mr. Akai," Alistair greeted in a polite and formal tone. "Hello Mrs. Akai. My name is Alistair Rei. It's a pleasure to be here,"

"Wow, aren't you a little gentlemen," Tsutomu chuckled.

"I apologize," Alistair blushed slightly and looked away. "This is my first time being at a friend's party. I didn't want to offend you,"

"Al!" Senichi happily ran over to him with Sable by his side.

"Hi Sen," Alistair smiled, foregoing the formal tone and using a casual one. "This is a nice party. I brought a gift for you,"

"Thanks!" Senichi grinned, taking the box and placing it over with the other presents.

The two friends and Sable went off to play the party games and eat yummy food. Occasionally, Shuichi dragged Senichi off to also play with him. Senichi didn't mind since it was his brother's birthday too. When it was cake time, the twins blew out the candles and happily cut the cake. After the cake was presents and the two marveled at all of the gifts they had received.

* * *

**The information about the British school system and panic attacks is what I got from online. I apologize if any of the information is wrong.**

**Hiyori: **  
**Thanks for the update! :)  
**

**Skai:  
Thanks for reading.**

**elsischneider:  
Thank you for all of your Detektiv Conan Fanfictions. They are really Good and Every time i got the message that a new Chapter is out. I'm happy to read it. Really thank you for your Work **

**Skai:  
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy my stories.**


	6. Hurt

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter VI  
Hurt  
Warnings: Corporal Punishment, Mentions of Suicide and Depression**

Year 3 went by much smoother than Year 2. By then, Senichi was already used to being separated from his twin brother. Alistair was still in the same class as him, though his assigned seat was a few desks farther. Senichi was just grateful that he didn't have to be in a classroom where he knew no one. He didn't want to deal with an annoying child friend but Alistair was a quiet student and wasn't a bother to Senichi.

In Year 3 they were taught how to read more complex words, understand the structure of a story, read a variety of texts, make connections between texts, and understand lessons within a story. They were able to add and subtract numbers one through twenty using mental math, solve two step addition and subtraction problems, began multiplication, break down three digit numbers, read/write/count up to a thousand, and add four sets of numbers. The students were taught to read time using analog and digital clocks, create picture and bar graphs, and break up shapes in halves, thirds, and fourths.

In Year 4, Senichi decided to give up focusing on the lessons, knowing that he'd be able to answer all the questions. This did not sit well with his math teacher, Mr. Edgar Lo. Lo was not a kind teacher. He would give long, boring lectures and ridicule anyone who got any wrong answers. Whenever someone asked a question or requested help, he'd scoff and tell them that they should've paid closer attention.

During one lesson, Senichi decided to take a nap. "Akai!" Lo stormed over to the eight year old. "You do not sleep in my class!"

Senichi yawned and lifted his head. "Sir, I have already completed my entire workbook for the school year,"

"I'll be the judge of that!" Lo snatched up Senichi's math workbook and quickly flipped through pages of worksheets all answered correctly. "You must've gotten an older student to do it! You're always daydreaming in my class!"

"Sir, I assure you that I answered all of those myself," Senichi said in a polite tone.

"Liar!" Lo yanked Senichi out of his seat. "Hold your hands out!"

"Why?" Senichi asked. "I did nothing wrong,"

"You're an insolent child that is too stupid to have solved any of the problems in this book!" Lo smacked the book harshly against Senichi's head.

Senichi winced. "That's assault!" _'This teacher's crazy!'_

"Hold your hands out or your punishment will be much worse!" Lo yelled.

Senichi was terrified. Never had he felt so helpless. He was not seventeen years old physically. He was only eight and therefore would have no chance to fight off the angry, full grown adult. His body was trembling and he brought his knees up to his chest, eyes wide with fear. _'Stop…stop please….Someone…someone make him go away!'_

"Hold out your hands!" Lo slammed the ruler down onto the desk.

"Corporal punishment is illegal!" Alistair intervened.

"Shut up and sit down Rei!" Lo snapped. He forcefully grabbed Senichi's arm and brought the ruler down a couple times, causing several pained yelps.

"Leave him alone!" Alistair tackled Lo and the two engaged in a struggle.

The commotion drew the attention of the neighboring classrooms. "What's going on in here!?"

XXX

Alistair's elder brother was a young man with dark black hair slicked back and pale grey eyes. The man gave off the intimidating aura of a mob boss yet at the same time the aura of authority that belonged to a king. Craton Rei stood beside his younger brother, his piercing glare shifting from the principal to Edgar Lo and finally to Senichi Akai.

Senichi was sobbing against Tsutomu's chest. Both Tsutomu and Shuichi tried their best to calm him down, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Senichi's hands were wrapped in bandages and, despite the pain, he gripped tightly onto Tsutomu's shirt.

"Corporal punishment is illegal in England," Craton stated calmly.

"It's the only way to get anything through that idiot child's head!" Lo claimed.

If he weren't holding his two sons, Tsutomu would've assaulted Lo right then and there. "Do not call my son an idiot," He wanted to keep his voice even and avoid yelling. Shouting would only cause Senichi unnecessary stress.

"He's an idiot and a cheater!" Lo slammed the math workbook onto the principal's desk. "He never pays attention in class, always sleeping or daydreaming! There is no way he could've answered the _entire _book!"

"My son is an intelligent child," Tsutomu glared at Lo's accusations.

"Lo is a terrible teacher!" Alistair argued. "He ridicules anyone who gives a wrong answer, even when they try their hardest! He doesn't even help us when we ask questions or request help!"

"You and all those other students should've paid more attention in class!" Lo shouted.

"Mr. Akai," Craton addressed the only parent in the room. "Please leave with your sons. Being near that man is only stressing them out more. I will take care of things from here,"

Tsutomu nodded. Even though he had never met the many before, his guts told him that Craton would deal with the problem.

XXX

Mary's blood boiled when she saw the bloody and bruised hands of one of her precious boys. Shukichi waddled over to him and hugged his brother. "Senichi needs his mother by his side, not in prison for murder," Tsutomu told her. "Alistair's brother said he'd take care of it,"

Mary begrudgingly nodded and cradled Senichi in her arms. Neither of them had seen Senichi act this way before. He was always acting strong as if he were a solid wall. But now…now that wall had crumbled into ruins. Mary whispered words of comfort and ran her fingers through her son's hair. "It's going to be alright Senichi. We won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe here,"

Shuichi clenched his fists tightly. "I'm sorry Senichi…I failed as an older brother! I failed to protect you! I'm a terrible big brother!"

"Y-You're wrong," Senichi sniffled. "You're a good big brother. D-Don't beat yourself up over this. I…I-I'm not dead and my hands will heal f-fine," A quivering smile formed forcefully. "I'm okay, Shuu. You're not a terrible brother,"

"I wasn't there for you!" Shuichi screamed. "You're hurt because I wasn't there!"

"You can't be there for everyone," Senichi said. "That's the harsh truth of reality. Sometimes…no matter how fast you run, you won't get there in time. Even if you desperately want to save them…" Senichi's voice had cracked and tears started to fall. "Shit!" He furiously wiped his eyes with his shirt sleeve. "Don't think about them! Don't think about them!"

"Sen?" Shukichi asked. "Who's them?"

"Ah, why don't I bring Sen to his room so he could take a nap?" Tsutomu took him from Mary. "Shuu, stay here and, uh, work on your homework. Sen needs some time alone,"

"But—"

"Sen's emotionally exhausted," Tsutomu claimed as he quickly walked to Senichi's room followed by the family dog.

"I couldn't save them!" Senichi sobbed against Tsutomu's chest. "I couldn't save Mom or Dad!"

"You're still haunted by their deaths," Tsutomu realized. "Senichi, it wasn't your fault. They didn't die because of you. Did you set the fire?"

"N-No…"

"Did you order someone to set the house on fire?"

"No…"

"Then stop blaming yourself," Tsutomu said. "You said it yourself. You can't be there to save everyone. That's the harsh truth of reality. Sometimes, no matter how fast you run, you won't get there in time, no matter how desperate you are,"

"Have you ever lost anyone?" Senichi asked.

"Yeah," Tsutomu nodded. "My mother committed suicide. She acted so happy all the time. I was only young so I didn't know it was only a façade. I didn't know that she was really hurting on the inside. She kept it all to herself. After she died, I kept blaming myself since I was the only one inside the house at the time of her death. My father was at work. As I grew older, I started to understand the signs and then started blaming myself. If I had noticed that she was suffering from depression, then maybe I could have helped her. Maybe I could have saved her. It took me a while, but I managed to get over the guilt,"

"But that's different," Senichi told him. "You were a young child. I was seventeen when my parents died. I was older, almost an adult. I should've been there to save them,"

"Senichi, seventeen is still a child," Tsutomu reminded. "Besides, you said that you were at school. You couldn't have been home unless you were sick and even then, you probably wouldn't have had the strength to rescue them,"

Senichi looked down at his bandaged hands. "You know, in all the isekai fanfiction I've read, and all the isekai anime I've watched, the dimensional traveler tends to have a happy life. Some of them are even overpowered. Heh, I wonder how my life would be if I was a Gary Stu. I'd be overpowered but would be able to save _everyone. _I wouldn't have to worry about anyone dying,"

"Unfortunately, that's not how it works in this world," Tsutomu responded.

"But with the knowledge of future events, I will at least change _some _things," Senichi replied. "However, I need to get stronger. I…I've never felt so helpless before. Only now do I fully understand how weak I am, not just physically but mentally too. Alistair…he's an actual child yet he had the courage to stand up to Lo. I was frozen in fear,"

"I guess I can enroll you and your brothers into a martial arts class once your hands are fully healed," Tsutomu offered. "Any specific one you want to learn?"

"I know that Shuu is a Jeet Kune Do practitioner and he's the reason why Masumi learned JKD too," Senichi recalled. "I guess it's never early for him to start. But I want to learn more than one martial art,"

"Let's just start with Jeet Kune Do first," Tsutomu suggested. "I don't want you overexerting yourself and I heard some people that are practicing two martial arts at the same time sometimes get the lessons mixed up. Once your body is accustomed to the physical strain of practicing JKD, then I'll enroll you into another class,"

"I want to learn Sining panlaban ng Pilipinas after Jeet Kune Do," Senichi said. "My father in the past life, Adrien Field, won Filipino Martial Arts tournaments when he was younger. He practiced Kali, Arnis, and Eskrima. I want to somehow honor him in this life,"

"Then it's settled," Tsutomu declared. "You guys are learning JKD and then FMA,"

* * *

**So Senichi is planning on getting stronger in order to protect those that he cares about.**

**I decided the third arc would be too long as just one arc so it'll be divided.  
Arc I: Childhood  
Arc II: Mad Dog Arena  
Arc III: Trainee  
Arc IV: Scarlet Crow  
Arc V: Recovery/Aftermath (Basically the Epilogue) **

**Hiyori:  
At first I thought Sen was going to be bullied, thank god Alistair was there to calm him down…  
Anyway, happy 7****th**** birthday Shuichi & Senichi!**

**Skai:  
I **_**was **_**going to have him bullied but decided to have a teacher be an asshole instead. **


	7. Verity

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc I  
Chapter VII  
Verity  
Warnings: None**

Tsutomu and Senichi waited a week after Kohji's thirteenth birthday to tell him The Truth. They didn't want to spoil the happy mood of him becoming a teenager, hence why they waited. But they knew that they couldn't put it off forever. Eventually, they called Kohji to Tsutomu's office. The young teen entered with a confused expression. "Is something wrong?"

"Kohji, what we will be discussing here has to stay in between the three of us, okay?" Tsutomu asked.

"What's wrong?" Kohji frowned at the seriousness in his uncle's tone. "Am I in trouble?"

"Kohji," Senichi spoke up. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"Honestly, I don't really believe in that," Kohji shrugged. "There isn't really much scientific evidence of reincarnation. But why are you suddenly asking that?"

"Kohji," Senichi hesitated. "I'm a reincarnate,"

"Okay…" Kohji seemed reluctant to believe him. "Of whom exactly?"

"Do you believe in dimensional traveling?" Senichi avoided the question for now.

"No," Kohji flatly denied. "If dimensional traveling was real, then we would be stealing resources from other dimensions and thus invoking an intergalactic war. Humans are greedy creatures after all,"

"That is very philosophical," Tsutomu commented.

Senichi opened his mouth but then closed it. "I…" Tsutomu put a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving him a bit more confidence. "In my past life, I was named Michael Leo Field. I was born in a dimension where…where the world you and Dad live in is fictional,"

"Senichi, are you on drugs?" Kohji gave him a concerned look. "Because the world we live in is reality," He turned to Tsutomu with an angry expression. "Did you give your own son drugs!?"

"No!" Tsutomu was horrified at what his own nephew was accusing him of doing.

"I'm not on drugs," Senichi assured him. "It's the truth. I know you find it hard to believe, but it's true. This world we are currently in is actually a fictional world, a manga and anime series called _Detective Conan. _The Akai Family are not main characters, though Akai—I'm referring to Shuichi—is a major ally to the story's protagonist,"

Kohji stared directly into Senichi's eyes, studying them for a moment. He could see the desperation in his cousin's eyes. "Let's say that you _are _a reincarnate and our world is just fictional. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you die when Shuu is fifteen years old," Senichi revealed. "You are murdered by a criminal organization during a chess tournament in the US due to Amanda Hughes, a fan of yours with FBI and CIA connections. Dad goes to investigate your death but then disappears and orders the family to flee to Japan,"

"Then why are you telling only me this?" Kohji asked. "We need to tell my parents and the rest of the family—"

"No!" Senichi snapped. "No, we can't! We need to fake your death! Your death is what motivates Akai to become an FBI Agent! He's the Silver Bullet and is a valuable ally! He helped foil the organization's plans!"

"Is that all we are to you?" Kohji glared at him. "Are we just tools? Just fictional characters in your eyes? We are human beings with emotions!"

"No!" Senichi cried out. "No, you're not just tools! I love you guys, okay? You're my family. I may have thought of you guys as mere characters in the beginning but now that I have spent time with you guys…I don't want to lose _anyone_! Please…Kohji, if we change the events too much, I won't be able to foresee the future. I don't want to alter the timeline,"

Kohji sighed. "Tsutomu-ojisan, what do you think?"

"I am putting faith in my son," Tsutomu told him.

"Then," Kohji put a hand to his cousin's head and ruffled his hair. "I'll put my faith in you too,"

"Thank you for trusting me, Kohji," Senichi smiled.

"But I am curious about your past life," Kohji said. "Who exactly was Michael Leo Field?"

"Michael Leo Field was a Filipino weebtaku that lived in Hawaii," Senichi informed. "I had no friends, at least as far back as I can remember. I don't have any memories before high school. My entire life outside of school was on the internet. Anime and manga were my life,"

"Since you were so interested in anime and manga even in this life, I was curious about this thing called fanfiction," Kohji recalled. "Did you write fanfiction about this world?"

Senichi immediately blushed. "I…I was working on my first fanfiction and had planned to post it when I got home but…well, I died. I really wanted other people to read it and hear their thoughts,"

"Then why not tell it to us?" Tsutomu suggested. "We'd love to hear about it,"

"A-Are you sure?" Senichi looked away. "It's my first story so it's probably terrible,"

"You gotta start somewhere," Tsutomu smiled.

_ Akai Tsutomu stood in front of the address he had hastily written down after tracking his wife's phone number. After seventeen years…the organization had finally fallen. Kohji's death had been avenged. All of the high ranking operatives had either been captured, killed in combat, or committed suicide. He lifted a hand to ring the doorbell, but hesitated._

_ He had been hiding all this time. He had been away—practically _abandoned_—his family. He had never even met his daughter before. What would his family think? He couldn't possibly just suddenly waltz back into their lives. Did they even believe he was still alive? He desperately wanted them to have still kept hope, but then again, it has been _seventeen _years. That was quite a long time. They had moved on. They had developed many happy memories without him. He was not needed._

"T-That's so sad!" Tsutomu cried. "S-Seventeen years really is a long time!"

"I…I tired to come up with the feelings you had while being forced to stay away from your family for their safety," Senichi scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I'm not done yet. There's still a bit more,"

_As Tsutomu turned around to leave, he was met with the barrel of a gun pointed at hi forehead, wielded by none other than Akai Shuichi. "Who are you?"_

_ Tsutomu's voice was caught in his throat. This boy—this _man_—was his son. There were so many things that he wanted to say, yet none of them escaped his mouth._

_ "Who are you?" Akai repeated, his tone cold and emotionless._

_ "Sh…" Tsutomu's voice was soft and he wasn't even sure Akai could hear him. "Shuu-chan…"_

_ Apparently the Silver Bullet _did _hear him. His eyes were as wide as saucers and stared directly at the man in front of him. "Who…who are you?" His voice was full of desperation, full of hope. He didn't want to be disappointed, but he had to risk it. He needed to confirm the identity of this man. His left hand trembled, his aim unsteady._

_ "You've grown so much," Tsutomu managed to say, this time slightly louder. "I…I'm sorry. You were only fifteen years old. Kichi-chan was only eleven. Mary was pregnant when I left. I left you guys so suddenly…I'm so sorry…"_

_ Akai lowered his gun and tucked it back into his holster. However, his next action caught Tsutomu off guard. Akai punched Tsutomu square in the face._

"I like this Shuu-chan," Kohji commented.

"How could punch me in the face?" Tsutomu sobbed. "Shuu-chan…"

"Relax, this is only a fanfiction," Senichi reminded. "We don't know how he'll actually react when you guys actually reunite after the organization's fall,"

_ "I guess I deserved that," Tsutomu sputtered._

_ "Seventeen years!" Akai screamed. "It's been seventeen years! Everyone thought that you were dead! But I…I still believed that you were alive. There was no corpse but, despite the fact that the corpse could have been gotten rid of, I still believed that you were alive!"_

_ "I'm sorry," Tsutomu said. "I know my words won't restore the time that I've been gone, but I don't know what else to do but apologize,"_

_ "Sorry won't restore the time we've been apart!" Tears were falling down his face. "So if you're truly sorry…you better do your best to make up for the lost time," He wiped his tears away. "I've been waiting seventeen years to say this to you again…" A smile made its way to his lips. "Welcome home, Dad,"_

"Oh no! I made Shuu-chan cry!" Tsutomu himself was also crying. "I'm so cruel!"

"That was rather short but you conveyed the emotions in it," Kohji commented, shoving a pack of tissues in Tsutomu's direction. "What are your plans for the future?"

"Well, I know that Shuu's gonna be an FBI Agent, Kichi's gonna be the Taiko Meijin, and Masumi's gonna be a detective," Senichi hummed. "I…I guess I'll join the Japanese Public Security Bureau? I don't want to just sit around. If I'm in the PSB, then I can be more useful," _'And since I'm a bit older than Scotch, if I work hard enough I can be at the same rank as him or possibly his superior at the time of the infiltration,"_

"Ever thought of writing a book?" Kohji suggested.

"I'll give it some thought," Senichi smiled.

**END OF ARC I**

* * *

**So that's the end of Arc I. Just a reminder, Arc II is when things get dark.**

**Digital Painting of Sable: fav DOT me SLASH ddqgoeh**

**Hiyori:  
Oh yes, that teacher is an a**hole… I hope Alistair's brother got that teacher fired, or better yet, got him locked up! Anyway, this makes me cry, poor Senichi T T**

**Skai:  
Yep, Lo is an asshole. Craton has some connections to the Italian mafia hence so…Edgar Lo is dead. And yes, poor Senichi. His life's going to take a dark turn at the age of ten. **


	8. Prisoner

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter I  
Prisoner  
Warnings: Kidnapping, Child Abuse**

_'It's cold…'_

_ …_

_ 'My whole body hurts…'_

_ …_

_ 'What the hell happened?'_

_ …_

Senichi's eyes flew open as he fully regained conscious. The sight he was met was total darkness. He could feel some kind of cloth tied around his head, preventing him from seeing where he was. His wrists and ankles were bound tightly by rope, digging into his skin enough to be uncomfortable but not very painful. A strip of duct tape kept his mouth shut.

_ 'Fuck. I've been kidnapped,' _He realized. He moved his limbs around and ended up hitting several objects. He wasn't even able to sit up and only ended up bumping his head against something hard. _'I can feel whatever I'm in is moving and judging by the fact that it's hella cramp in here and there's a bunch of other stuff, I'm probably in a car trunk,'_

Getting kidnapped was most definitely not in his agenda. _'How did I even get kidnapped? My memories are a bit fuzzy. All I remember is darkness. I think there was an alley? I can also recall Sable's barking? After that, everything is pretty incomprehensible to me at the moment,'_

He tested out as much movement in his body as possible in the confined space. _'None of my bones seem to be broken or fractured, though I think I have a few bruises. I hope I had put up a fight. If Sable was with me then…' _His eyes widened. _'No…he can't be dead! Sable's alive! Sable…Sable went to get help! He can't have been killed…right? These people aren't so cruel that they'd kill a dog!'_

He started panicking but did his best to take deep breaths through his nose. He couldn't afford to panic. Panicking leads to reckless actions, actions that he could not afford to take. Once his breathing was even, he had calmed down enough to think rationally. _'It's pretty useless to keep track of the twist and turns at this point. Who knows how long I've been out? It could have been hours or it could have been days. I don't even know if I'm still in the same city, or even the same country. I could be in Wales or even Scotland!'_

XXX

He heard the sound of the trunk clicking open and felt a sudden warmth on his exposed skin. "This here brat's gonna be in the J Cell with the other three brats,"

_'J Cell?' _Senichi was forcibly removed from the trunk and thrown down to the hard pavement. _'He said other three brats. So there are three other children that were kidnapped? That means that I wasn't targeted specifically. At first, I thought they were people who had grudges against my family, probably my mom since she's MI6. But apparently these people are just criminals that go after children,'_

"Try anything and I'll break a leg," The ropes binding his ankles together were cut.

_'As much as I want to kick them—there are at least two males from what I can tell by their voices—in the balls, I know it's a stupid move,' _Senichi complied and was forced to get up and start walking in the direction he was being led in. _'I don't know how many enemies there are and this is their turf. Plus, my wrists are still tied and I'm blindfolded. Those would take time to undo, time I won't have. I know for sure that I'd be overpowered, especially since I'm only ten years old,'_

Suddenly, he heard something heavy and iron creak open, possibly a gate or door of some sorts. Without any warning, he was shoved and fell hard onto the floor. He heard the loud creak once again. "Go ahead and free your new cellmate. Best you guys get acquainted because none of you four are going anywhere," The guards' footsteps echoed in the hallway, softening as they got farther and farther.

"Stay still," A young boy's voice, one thick with a foreign accent, told him. "I'm going to undo the ropes," After a few minutes of fumbling and struggling, the ropes were finally loose.

Senichi immediately tore the blindfold and gag off in a single action each. He gasped a bit, finally able to breathe through his mouth and not just his nose. His eyes scanned the room—the _holding cell_—he was currently residing in. It was approximately ten by six feet if he had to make a rough estimate. Three of the sides were solid walls with no windows. The one other side were a bunch of cell bars with a locked door. In the farthest corner was a bucket and, judging by the disgusting scent it radiated, it was a makeshift toilet.

Not too far from him were three other figures. The oldest was a young teenager, probably around thirteen years old, with short, messy, silver hair and azure eyes. The other two were younger than Senichi, maybe around four years old. It was their appearance that startled him. The girl had long silver hair in a single braid. The boy had, like his elder brother, messy short, messy, silver hair. But it was their eyes that had made Senichi nervous; the girl had a single blue eye and a transparent one while the boy's eyes were green.

_'T-They're Curacao and Gin!' _Senichi thought, scooting away from the three until his back hit the hard wall. _'Those eyes are definitely Curacao's and Gin's!'_

"Are you alright?" The teenager asked. "They didn't hurt you too badly, right?"

_'Who is that guy?' _Senichi stared at the one person he couldn't recognize. _'He looks like he could be Gin and Curacao's older brother. But that can't be. They don't have an older brother. Wait, I need to think logically here. Gin and Curacao are not the only people in the world to have silver hair. Green and blue eyes are also not that special. Akai has green eyes and Kichi and I have blue eyes. Heterochromia is rare but there are other people besides Curacao who has it. And if those two were actually twins, then that would mean that Gin killed her in the Darkest Nightmare. There's no way they're Gin and Curacao!'_

"I'm fine," Senichi managed to say. "Thank you for untying me,"

"My name is Ahren Klein," The teen introduced. "These two are my brother and sister, Brendan Klein and Harimanna Klein,"

"I'm Senichi Akai," He replied. "Judging from your accent, you're not from England,"

"Nein," The teen shook his head. "We are from Germany and were just visiting England with our mother when these people kidnapped us,"

_'They called this Cell J,' S_enichi peered through the bars and caught sight of other cells with four imprisoned children each. _'So many children…stripped of their freedom and torn away from their families…If all the cells from A to Z each have four children, that's one hundred and four children that were kidnapped!'_

* * *

**Caesar Cipher Spoiler: Jzmvliv ivl Pizquivvi izm ikbcittg Oqv ivl Kczikiw ia kpqtlzmv.**

**Hiyori****:  
****I'm glad Kohji believes Senichi :) and good fanfiction there, even Tsutomu cried xD****  
****Oh, that teacher's dead? *innocent smile* never thought Alistair's brother, Craton has connections with mafia, hmm... will Alistair become involves with Senichi later in the story? he's such a good friend to Sen :)**

**Skai:  
Honestly, the only reason I actually put a fanfiction in the last chapter was I felt the word count was too small.  
As for Alistair being involved in future chapters? I don't know yet. I haven't prewritten to any point where they'd be prominent yet, though he and Craton might make brief cameos.**


	9. Branded

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter II  
Branded  
Warnings: Branding**

When had he fallen asleep? How could he have fallen sleep in this situation? The heavy footsteps and chatter of the people passing his gates were now mere background noise to him. He opened his eyes and sat up at the sound of something sliding through the gap in the cell bars. There were two bowls of water and a single loaf of bread.

The small amount made Senichi frown. _'All of that is to be shared amongst all four of us? Then again, why would these bastards even care about our health? Why would they care if we starve?'_

Ahren was the first to go to the water and bread. He tore the bread into four uneven parts and gave the two largest ones to Brendan and Harimanna along with one of the bowls of water to share. He held a piece out to Senichi. "This piece along with half the bowl of water is yours,"

_'Even in this situation, he is willing to share what little resources there is?' _Senichi glanced to the twins and then shook his head. "You should just worry about your brother and sister. I'm just a stranger that is now your cellmate,"

"We are in the same boat," Ahren told him. "We are all victims. We should look out for each other, ja? It's be rude to hog the rations all to ourselves and I'd rather have allies than more enemies,"

Senichi took his share from Ahren and tore it in half. He held it out to the two youngest kids. "You guys need it more than me. You've been here longer," _'I doubt we'd be here much longer. I'm sure my family is still alive. They can't have died. They're not that weak. Dad will tell Uncle Yasu and Aunt Chi. The Haneda Clan is a rich and noble family. Since they're rich, then they will use their money to find me. When they find me, they'll help free everyone else,'_

Brendan and Harimanna both stared at the food that Senichi was offering them. They both wanted to take it but looked to Ahren for advice. "You're stubborn junge," Ahren sighed. "Bren, Manna, go ahead and accept it. But junge, at least drink your ration of water,"

"Fine, fine," Senichi agreed and brought the bowl to his mouth. He took a few short sips before giving the other half to Ahren.

XXX

The four remaining Akai Family members were all gathered in the living room. The two youngest of the family that were present, Shuichi and Shukichi, were sobbing loudly. Mary and Ichiyo were doing their best to comfort them. Tsutomu was biting his thumbnail and tapping his foot impatiently. He let out a frustrated cry and stormed out the door. Fourteen year old Kohji followed after him with concern. "Tsutomu-ojisan!"

"I'm a terrible father!" Tsutomu fell to his knees. "I can't even comfort my own children at a time like this!"

"We'll find Senichi!" Kohji told him. "We'll find him and—"

"Those bastards killed Sable, Kohji," Tsutomu reminded. "What's the chance that Senichi's still alive?"

"Don't talk like that!" Kohji argued. "Senichi wouldn't want us to give up on him! He's waiting for us to save him! We _will _find him and rescue him!"

"How can you be so hopeful?" Tsutomu asked.

"Because Senichi put faith in us to change the timeline," Kohji said. "I'll make sure he lives to see the future,"

"False hope is a dangerous thing," Tsutomu stood back up and wiped his tears. "But you're right. Besides, it's only been a few days. There is still a chance that he isalive. No—he _is _alive,"

"The people who took him," Kohji asked, though his voice held great hesitation. "Do you think it's the people who want to kill me?"

"It's a possibility but unlikely," Tsutomu replied. "Those people, the crows as he referred to them, wouldn't leave such a mess behind. And I'm sure they would have taken us as leverage against him. We were also careful that nobody outside of you and me knew about The Truth,"

"Then who would kidnap him?" Kohji clenched his fist. "Who would kidnap my cousin!?"

"There have been many child kidnappings cases lately," Tsutomu recalled hearing the news a few days ago. "Law enforcements are currently investigating but the victims and the culprits haven't been found yet," _'Senichi, we _will _rescue you!'_

XXX

Something was happening today, but none of the four prisoners of Cell J knew what was going on. Everyone had been forced out of their cells and forced to march through the corridors. Some kids took this chance to attempt escape but they were immediately killed with a few shots from the guards' guns. Their corpses were left in the hallways for all to see the example of what fate would befall them if they dared to disobey orders.

Brendan and Harimanna both clung to Ahren's arms. Ahren forced them to face forward and keep walking. He tried to block their view of the dead bodies but there were still corpses that they came across as they walked through the hallways. Senichi stared at each corpse with wide eyes, taking in every detail from their hollow cheeks to their pale skin to their skinny limbs. He took in the bloody wounds, some fresh while others old. He took in the newly made bullet holes in their skulls, though there tended to be other bullet wounds in their arms, back, and legs since the guards were not perfect shots.

Senichi forced himself to resist the urge to vomit. _'In the Real World, death was a regular occurrence in the series. I never took it seriously since everything was fictional. But now…but now I'm alive and these corpses are so _real_. These are _children _that are being ruthlessly murdered! I…How does Conan and Ran and Kogoro all handle murder so well!? How do the _Detective Boys _handle it without being traumatized!? Granted, it's anime logic but still…' _He felt Ahren tug his arm and realized that he had suddenly stopped in the middle of the walkway and a guard was taking aim at him. He swiftly started walking once again. "T-Thanks,"

"Don't get distracted," Ahren warned.

"R-Right," Senichi was baffled by how calm Ahren was and how even his tone stayed. But he then noticed that the teen was trembling, yet he did his best to keep a calm façade on his face. _'He's trying to be strong for Brendan and Harimanna,'_

They were then split into four lines, each member of a cell in a different line. Ahren was to the far left followed by Brendan and then Harimanna. Senichi was in the line that was rightmost. He could hear the sobs, the whimpers, the screams, and the pleas of the children all around him. It did not do anything but make him even more nervous, especially since Ahren and the others weren't with him. He dug his nails deep into his palms but not enough to draw blood.

Then he caught a whiff of a horrendous stench. It smelled of something that was severely burned. It was the scent of smoke. The scent was foreign yet so familiar to Senichi. He couldn't exactly place his finger on it. As he neared the front of the line, his eyes widened when he recognized where he had smelled that scent before. It was the scent of burning human flesh.

Senichi gagged and took a step back only to accidentally bump into the prisoner behind him. He couldn't bring himself to mumble an apology. He wanted to run but some kind of universal force kept his feet planted in the ground. The scent of burning human flesh was only familiar to him because it was the last thing he had smelled before his death. It wasn't only the sight of his parents' corpses that stuck in his mind throughout the years, but also the scent.

Soon it was his turn and he couldn't help but let out a shriek as a muscled guard held him still, lifting the sleeve of his shirt and preventing him from escaping. He could see the hot rod in the pit of flames, the blaze reflecting in the guard who was waiting for it to heat up. The guard that held the end of the metal rod was grinning and the children's screams were music to his ears. He lifted the rod to inspect if it was hot enough. There were still pieces of other children's flesh stuck in some parts, but it didn't bother the cruel man.

Senichi absolutely _hated _fire. No, he not only loathed it, but he _feared _it. Fire was what had killed him. Fire was what had taken away the lives of his parents. Fire was what had destroyed his home. In the past, Mary and Tsutomu sometimes took him and his brothers camping from time to time. Of course that meant that there was a campfire but Senichi tended to stay as far away as possible. Tsutomu quickly took the hint and sat by Senichi a couple feet away from the fire while Mary, Shuichi, and Shukichi were roasting marshmallows and warming up around the flames. If it were a chilly night, Tsutomu would wrap a warm coat or blanket around Senichi. Neither he nor Mary would force him to be near the campfire.

Senichi felt the branding stick make contact with his left shoulder and he immediately _screamed_. He couldn't even hear Ahren's, Brendan's, or Harimanna's screams. He was sure that it was his own scream that overpowered everyone else's. The scent of burnt flesh grew stronger and Senichi tried to thrash around in order to escape. However, due to the fact that he had not eaten or drank properly in days, he was malnourished and weak.

Once the branding process was done, he was dragged away like a trash bag and thrown into Cell J like an old, worn out, ragdoll. Ahren, Brendan, and Harimanna were already there, having been tossed in just a few minutes ago. All of them, including Ahren, were crying loudly. Brendan and Harimanna curled up against their older brother's chest. Ahren held a shaky hand out towards Senichi who immediately accepted and was brought into the hug too.

Senichi didn't fully understand why Ahren was comforting him, a random kid who just happened to be their cellmate. But he didn't care what the reason was at the moment. Instead, he was grateful that he wasn't alone, even if he didn't really know the three silver haired kids well.

* * *

**Poor Senichi.**

**Hiyori:  
I forgot Sen was going to be kidnapped at age ten (damn my reading on the summary *sweat drop*) So in this fic Gin & Curacao are younger than Senichi?**

**Skai:  
Yep, Brendan/Gin and Harimanna/Curacao are six years younger than Shuichi and Senichi.**


	10. Fight

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter III  
Fight  
Warnings: Self-Harm, Forced Fighting, Child Murder**

Senichi glared down at the brand on his left shoulder. It was a simple brand: the number four. _'This isn't supposed to be here!' _Senichi brought his right hand up to it and hissed once he started tracing the discolored skin. _'A brand means I'm an object! I'm not an object! I'm not a mere possession! I have no owner! I am a person!' _He dug his nails in and the intense pain on the still fresh wound caused tears to fall. _'I don't want this! Make it go away! I'll tear the skin out! This brand shouldn't be here!'_

Ahren grabbed Senichi's hand. "Stop. You're hurting yourself,"

"Let go!" Senichi ordered. "Let go of me Ahren! I'm going to tear it out!"

"Senichi, stop," Ahren did not loosen his grip. "Calm down,"

"I don't want this fucking brand!" Senichi snapped. "I don't want it so I'll make it go away!"

"Senichi, they'll just rebrand you!" Ahren warned. "Even if you tear out that patch of skin on your shoulder, they'll still just rebrand you! Do you want to go through that again!?"

"No…" Senichi choked out. "I don't want this…"

"Nobody does," Brendan said. "But you're gonna get hurt if you try to remove it,"

Senichi broke down. He just wanted to go home back to his warm bed and loving family. He wanted his belly to be full of delicious food and he wanted to make many more cheerful memories. _'Brendan's only four years old…yet he and Harimanna are handling this better than me, who's physically ten years old but mentally seventeen. _Actual _children who are suffering the same as I am are stronger than me…'_

The number four had been burned onto his shoulder. It stripped him from his name, labelling him J4 in the eyes of his captors. Four…he was stuck with an unlucky number on his skin. In countries such as Japan, due to the pronunciation of four being the same as the pronunciation as death, four was considered a cursed number.

XXX

A funeral for Sable was held. The German shepherd's corpse had been mutilated and was a gruesome sight, leading to Tsutomu and Mary to decide on cremating him. The urn was set on the center of the table and surrounded by flowers and the dog's favorite toys. A board filled with several photos of Sable throughout the years that he had lived with the Akai Family stood behind the urn.

Shuichi tried to resist crying, but he sniffled and tears still fell. "S-Sable…"

Shukichi, on the other hand, didn't try to seem strong and let all his sorrows out. "Sable!"

It was a funeral for Sable, not for Senichi, just for Sable. Sable's corpse was confirmation that he had perished but Senichi's corpse had yet to be found. That meant that there was still a chance that Senichi was alive. They weren't going to hold a funeral for a living person.

XXX

How many days had passed? Honestly, it was still tough to tell time. There was no window to see the sun. Minutes and hours blended into days and weeks. The time of day was irrelevant. Everyone just stayed holed up in their cell, bread and water occasionally being given to them. They had nothing to do but live in fear. No, they weren't truly living. They were merely surviving. To live in constant fear was not living at all.

To pass time, Ahren spoke about their life before being captured. The three had a loving mother and a distant father. Their father would rarely spend time with them, much less acknowledge them. It was as if the man's wife and children meant nothing, which was honestly probably true. After Brendan and Harimanna had been born, Ahren took it upon himself to be a father figure, despite he himself being still a child.

"What about your mother?" Senichi asked.

"She loved us all dearly but she was constantly at work in order to earn enough to support us," Ahren answered. "One day, our father announced out of nowhere that we'd be going on a trip to England. Honestly, I was reluctant to believe him but we really did travel here. But…a few days later…we were kidnapped. I'm not sure about what happened to Mutti,"

_ 'Judging by the timeframe and the way their father treats his kin, the bastard sold his own children!' _Rage filled Senichi's tired body. _'I don't understand how people could hurt their own flesh and blood! It sickens me to the core!'_

"What about your family?" Harimanna spoke up in a quiet voice. "I…I want to know what it's like to have a Vati who loves his family,"

"Manna…" Brendan whispered his twin's name. Although he never said it out loud, he too was curious as to how it felt to be loved by both parents.

"Dad and I were—_are_—very close," Senichi refused to use the past tense. They would escape and he would reunite with his family. "Whenever I'm troubled, I'd go to him. I was closer to him than I was with Mom. Don't get me wrong, both of them are wonderful parents. Dad just understands me more,"

"That sounds nice," Harimanna said.

"It is," Senichi nodded. "I'll take you to meet them once we get out of here,"

For some reason, his words sounded hollow.

XXX

One day, the guard suddenly approached their cell. "One of you is coming with me,"

All four of them exchanged looks and before Ahren could volunteer, Senichi stepped up. He made eye contact with the older boy. _'Stay here with your siblings. If something happens to me, at least the three of you will be fine. Your siblings need you, Ahren,'_

Senichi was terrified. He didn't what was going to happen. Were they going to kill him? No, it couldn't be. If they wanted him dead, they would've shot him while he was in Cell J. Many theories formed in his head but his thoughts were caught off when he entered an arena. As he turned to the guard, he saw that the hallway he had exited was blocked by heavy steel gates, separating Senichi from the guard who smirked cruelly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mad Dog Arena!" A loud voice boomed throughout the place and blinding lights illuminated him. "In this corner we have J4!"

_'What's going on!?' _Senichi panicked. _'Mad Dog Arena? Is that some kind of illegal dog fight? But I don't hear or see any dogs! And…And they addressed me!' _J4…he hated that label. _'Am _I _one of the fighters?'_

"In the other corner, we have I2!" Another set of lights illuminated the twelve year old child who stood several feet away from him. "These two will be fighting tonight! All bets have been placed! Who will win, J4 or I2? It's anybody's game here at Mad Dog Arena!"

_'No…' _He couldn't attack the other boy. He didn't want to harm a _child_.

But the other boy didn't have such morals. With a desperate cry, the tween charged at Senichi with the thoughts that since he was older, he would win. Senichi was quick to react and blocked the blows, glad that he had taken martial arts classes. He knew he couldn't block forever and that they would both eventually run out of stamina sooner or later. He managed to grab the boy's arm and painfully twisted it behind the boy's back and pushing the boy's head to the ground with his foot.

"I-I defeated him," Senichi looked around at the people watching him. They all wore masks in an attempt to hide their identities from each other. Their sickening pleasure in watching people suffer disgusted him. They were all cowardly monster who refused to show the world their true face. How many of them were corrupt politicians? How many were corrupt celebrities? How many were corrupt businessowners?

"Oh you stupid, stupid child," The emcee shook his head. "It's not over because he is still breathing,"

"What?" _'No…it can't be…'_

"These matches are fights to the death,"

He didn't want to believe them, but these people were monsters. Of course they'd have to fight to the death. They took great pleasure is seeing people, in seeing innocent children, harming each other. He looked down at the boy he had restrained. His opponent was a sobbing wreck and a puddle of urine had formed from fear. The boy's incoherent pleas were drowned out by the urging of the audience.

Senichi twisted the boy's neck with a sickening snap.

XXX

Once Senichi returned to Cell J, he ran over to the bucket in the corner and threw up. Once his stomach contents were all gone. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and staggered over to Ahren who hugged him tightly. "It's going to alright, Senichi,"

_ 'No, it won't,' _Senichi sobbed into Ahren's chest, soaking the older boy's shirt with tears. "I'm a murderer! I…I k-killed someone! I killed a child! I killed someone who was being held prisoner just like us!"

Ahren tensed up but did not push Senichi away. "We're all victims. You're not a murderer. It was in self-defense. It's kill or be killed here,"

"That doesn't change the fact that someone's dead because of me!" Senichi wailed.

Was anyone really going to save them? Was there really any hope for escape?

* * *

**Hiyori:  
Poor Senichi & the other children T T…**

**Skai:  
It only gets worse for them too.**

**GabrielRavier:  
Well, this is darker than Mitsuharu indeed… If the goal was to make the reader feel kinda sick, you've certainly succeeded with me  
Good writing though, this fic looks like it could become really good.**

**Skai:  
This is actually the darkest story I've ever written. I have been staying in the Rated T section since 2013 and decided to finally enter Rated M for violence territory.  
Thanks. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story.**


	11. Scream

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter IV  
Scream  
Warnings: Forced Fighting, Child Murder, Human Experimentation**

Their next rations were doubled. Instead of two bowls of water and a single loaf of bread, they had been given four bowls of water and two loaves of bread. _'This must be the 'reward' for winning the fight,' _Senichi thought as he drank a bowl of water and ate half a loaf. _'The bread tastes like sand. The water tastes like blood. A reward for killing another child? Disgusting. This is what they are using to motivate us into killing each other,'_

"I'll fight the next one," Ahren spoke up.

"No," Senichi refused. _'Don't stain yourself with the blood of the innocents. I'm already tainted. If I can stop the same from happening to you, I will,' _"Can you really kill another human being? Can you really kill someone who's younger than you, someone who might be the same age as Harimanna and Brendan?"

Ahren looked directly into the reincarnated boy's eyes. "I will if I have to," His voice was dead serious and that was what scared Senichi the most.

"Tch, do as you wish," Senichi turned away. _'What's the point is me caring about them? I want to save them, but I'm a dumbass. How do I expect to save everyone when I can't even save myself? I shouldn't bother thinking of them as friends. They'll end up dead when they get chosen to fight and lose,'_

Despite his thoughts, he still volunteered whenever their cell was chose to fight. He didn't even give Ahren a chance to speak up. The first fight was just beginner's luck that he didn't end up with any injuries. His opponents managed to land hits on him but he still fought back. He couldn't afford to lose. He couldn't afford to die. He had to survive.

Eventually, he ended up with a serious injury: a fractured leg. This was when Ahren took the chance to volunteer. "Senichi, you can't even stand properly with that leg. You've already fought enough for us. I'm the oldest one here so I should be looking out for you. Rest and I'll fight,"

Senichi knew that if he fought with his leg's current state, he'd be easily killed.

XXX

Brendan and Harimanna were huddled up against Senichi in the time that Ahren were absent. Senichi hated the feeling. He didn't want to comfort them. It reminded him of when he had to comfort Shukichi which caused him to think about his family. But at the same time, he did want to comfort the two four year olds. He wanted to return the favor of Ahren looking out for him. And…he cared about the kids' wellbeing.

Ahren came back about half an hour later, covered in scratches made by smaller hands and bitemarks made by small sets of teeth. There were a few spots of blood on his clothing as he sat down by the three's side. He smiled as if he hadn't just murdered someone. "I told you, Sen, that I would do what I need to do,"

When sleep came, Senichi was awoken by muffled sobs. He sat up and faced the thirteen year old. "Ahren,"

"S-Sen!?" Ahren quickly wiped his tears and put on a smile. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"You were crying," Senichi pointed out.

"No I wasn't!" Ahren denied.

"Bullshit," Senichi said.

"I don't know how you do it," Ahren admitted. "How were you able to kill all of these kids? The eyes…they stared at me as the life drained from them. It's such a terrible feeling. I know I said I'd do what I need to do but…this is terrible,"

"It is terrible and I know it," Senichi nodded. "But we have to do it. We can't let Brendan and Harimanna fight so we have to be the ones to stain our souls crimson. We have to survive until we are rescued. You three will reunite with your mother some day and I'll reunite with my family," _'I'm fooling myself by thinking of my opponents as fictional people. I think of them as the mere background characters that die in every episode of Detective Conan. It helps relieve most of the guilt but none of the murder victims in the series were children,'_

XXX

Weeks passed. Ahren fought and forcibly steeled his heart as he killed all of his opponents. He refused to let Senichi fight until his leg was healed. All of their wins earned them twice the amount of food and water but also caused the other cells to hate them. It was known throughout Mad Dog Arena that Cell J never lost a single fight. The other prisoners' hatred was not masked and they glared at them through their cell bars.

One night, their sleep was interrupted and all four of them were forcibly removed from their cell. They were taken to a lab and each of them were buckled down with leather straps to a cold, metal table. "What are you doing to us!? Let us go!"

"Ah, so these are the undefeatable J1 and J4," An old man with a graying beard and large, thick, round glasses stood in front of them. He wore a large lab coat then went down to his knees, indicating that he was a scientist or doctor of some sort. "What about the two youngest brats?"

"Leave Bren and Manna alone!" Ahren yelled.

"Shut up!" A nearby guard slammed Ahren's head hard against the table.

"Oi, oi, don't injure my subjects too badly," The scientist frowned. "Besides, I want them all conscious for the experiments,"

"Yes sir," The guard nodded.

XXX

The next couple hours were filled with the screams of four children that were music to the scientists' ears. Pieces of skin were sliced off like a butcher skinning an animal while other parts were sewn back on. Several needles full of unknown chemicals were stabbed into their bodies and injected into their bloodstream. Vials of mysterious compounds were shoved into their mouths and forced down their throat, burning as they made their way into their stomachs. Tubes were attached to their bodies, replacing lost blood so they wouldn't bleed out.

Oh, they were in so much _pain! _Nothing could have prepared them for this! It felt like their entire being was tearing apart and rearranging itself! It felt like they were being unmade, that they were unwinding piece by piece! It felt like being torn apart! Oh how they wished that they could lose conscious! They just wanted it all to end!

Finally, they were given a break at last. The scientist and guards all left, leaving the four alone in the laboratory. They had no strength to escape, not even enough strength to remove the binds. All of them were breathing heavily. Their clothes were mere rags laying against their skin. Their skin was a myriad of gashes and stitches and incisions and slices.

"Bren…Manna…Sen…" Ahren gasped. "Are…are you guys alright?"

"Are you really asking us that question!?" Brendan snapped. "We're not alright!"

"It hurts…" Harimanna whimpered.

"How could you even ask such a question even though you've experienced what we've been through!?" Brendan yelled.

"Bren stop…" Senichi managed to rasp out. "Don't…don't get angry at Ahren…" _'It's not his fault and I know that you know that. I know that we're all hurting very badly. I know that we all want this to end. But don't get angry at your brother. Family is the only thing you have here. I don't even have that,'_

XXX

It was hard for Shuichi and Shukichi, but they eventually had to return to school. Both of them wanted to stay home but it was pointless. Senichi wasn't there and them waiting would contribute nothing. Shuichi buried himself in his studies in order to keep his mind occupied. If he ran out of schoolwork, he'd read mystery novels, forcing his brain to piece together the clues and solve the crimes. He closed himself off from everyone, including his friends and family. If his mind wasn't preoccupied, he would notice the emptiness in the other half of his bedroom and the missing presence in his world.

Senichi's half of the room was cold. It was devoid of life. Nobody dared to remove Senichi's belongings and didn't dare to disturb the state it was in. They only vacuumed it from time to time when dust started to accumulate. Senichi was alive. Senichi was going to return. They couldn't mess up his side of the room or else he'd be upset when he is found and comes home.

* * *

**Honestly, the human experimentation was going to be much more graphic but I didn't have the heart to do so.**

**Lieutenant Myst:  
Like how I felt with Heroes of the dark by omytheon, my guess is that Senichi and Shuichi may see each other in the distant future yet Senichi can't leave the BO. …why wasn't Shinichi born around this timeline?**

**Skai:  
Sen and Shuu will definitely see each other in the future. Shinichi wasn't born around this timeline because I'm following the ages of the canon timeline. Shinichi is fifteen to sixteen years younger than Akai Shuichi and since currently Shuu and Sen are ten years old, Shinichi hasn't been born yet.**

**Hiyori:  
Poor, poor Senichi T,T**

**Skai:  
As I said in the previous chapter, it only gets worse.**


	12. Snarl

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter V  
Snarl  
Warnings: Forced Fighting, Animal Abuse**

The four of them were returned back to their cell. The walk was pure agony and every single movement, no matter how big or small, caused pain to surge throughout their bodies. All of them curled up together, trying to preserve as much warmth as possible. Despite that, they all trembled in the cold atmosphere. Sleep was both a blessing and a curse to them. While they finally rested their aching bodies, their minds suffered from the nightmares of the hours spent in the lab.

The next day, all four of them were brought into the arena. Their still exhausted bodies protested but refusing to comply with orders meant death. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mad Dog Arena!" Though the speakers were the same volume as they always were, to them it sounded several times louder than normal. "We have a special treat in story today!"

_ 'Special treat?' _Senichi thought. _'Now that I'm thinking about it…all four of us were brought here at the same time. No! No! They're not going to make us fight each other, right? I can't kill these guys!'_

"Cell J's DNA has been tweaked to make the fights even more exciting!"

_ 'Our _DNA _was altered!?' _Senichi gaped at those words. _'He's lying! He can't have done that! But…but we've been through so much tests. We were injected with so many serums and consumed so many chemicals. Thinking about it, it's not too farfetched of an idea to have our DNA slightly altered,'_

"Let's see how they fair against their animal counterparts!"

The far gate was opened and four animals entered the stadium. All of them were agitated and hostile towards everyone around them. The handlers barely managed to escape to behind the gates and narrowly avoided the animals' claws and fangs. The four animals were a fifteen feet long black mamba, an arctic wolf, a white tiger, and a polar bear. All of them seemed seemed very aggressive.

"We have to fight those?" Harimanna asked.

"Yeah," Ahren gulped. "Brendan, Harimanna, stay behind us!"

"I don't know what the odds are," Senichi took a step forward. "But we'll try to weaken them as much as possible. You two will have to go in for the final kill," _'I hate this. I don't want to harm these animals! I love animals! But these selfish bastards are forcing us to fight them! I can't die here nor can I let the others die!'_

"They said that they tweaked our DNA," Ahren recalled. "Let's hope it was for the better. I mean, it wouldn't be entertaining if we died immediately, right?"

Senichi and Ahren ran towards the animals, intending on keeping the beasts focused on them instead of the two younger ones. The snake let out a warning hiss and then lunged forward at incredible speed. But Ahren saw it in slow motion and managed to tilt his head away just enough so that the black mamba brushed past him. He successfully evaded the first bite.

"D-Did I really dodge a black mamba?" Ahren stuttered.

"Now's not the time to gawk!" Senichi grabbed the snake by its tail. _'They said animal counterparts. There are four animals and four of us. That means each of us has some sort of attribute to one of these animals. The thing is that we don't know which ones we are,' _

The wolf lunged at Senichi whose hands were both occupied with the snake. Ahren punched the wolf who immediately recovered from the attack. Senichi tightened his grip on the flailing serpent that hissed angrily. The tiger and the polar bear both attacked the two humans, pinning them down to the floor and causing Senichi to release the snake.

_'I need to __**move! **__I need to __**fight!**__' _Senichi gritted his teeth together. _'I need __**power!**__' _As if his pleas had been answered, he felt his hands _change_. They grew a bit bigger but it was his nails that were the largest difference. They extended and grew thicker, ending in sharp, slightly curved points. White fur covered the back of his hands. He could feel the same change happening in his feet. He didn't have time to ponder of the changes and kicked the polar bear with all his might. With Senichi's newfound strength, the bear was knocked off.

Senichi wasn't the only one who had gained power. The twins had gained a similar change as him, gaining claws and fur on their hands and feet. Ahren's one, on the other hand, was a bit different. He gained no claws but he did gain large fangs. His tongue was forked, indicating that he had been injected with the black mamba DNA. There were a few patches of scales that appeared on the skin around his face.

Nothing was holding Brendan and Harimanna back and it wasn't like Senichi and Ahren could handle all four animals on their own. Together, Cell J defeated the snake, tiger, wolf, and polar bear. Unable to resist the animalistic urge, they roared/hissed/howled, increasing the crowd's cheers. After their victory, they collapsed to the ground as their bodies returned to normal.

XXX

They woke up back in the lab, several machines hooked up to them. "Good, you guys are still alive," The scientist grinned. "I thought that my subjects would die after only one fight. Fortunately for me, you guys survived,"

"What did you do to us!?" Ahren demanded.

"I merely gave you animal traits," The scientist answered as if it weren't a big deal. "Normal children fights were beginning to bore the audience. So, to bring back the excitement, I turned you guys in chimeras. J1, I gave you black mamba DNA. J2, I gave you wolf DNA. J3, you have tiger DNA. J4, you have polar bear DNA,"

"That's impossible!" Brendan said. "Humans with animal DNA? Nobody has ever done that!"

"I'm not a normal scientist," The scientist chuckled. "Of course, I've had many more trials than those wimps ever dared to do,"

_ 'I have some polar bear DNA now…' _Senichi stared down at his hands. _'My humanity…it's being stripped away. I…No, this can't be. I don't want this! I'm a hundred percent human! I'm not some kind of disgusting human-animal hybrid! I'm a _human!_ I don't care if this hybrid power saved me! I don't want it! I don't need it!' _But he could do nothing about it. He had numerous experiments conducted on him and the tiny pieces of animal DNA flowed inside his veins.

* * *

**They won't be overpowered. The animals were not fully grown except for the black mamba, hence why with the strength of the animal DNA inside them, they were able to knock off the polar bear and tiger. There will be side effects from using their animal DNA. **

**Drawings of Senichi but the link does contain spoilers: fav DOT me SLASH ddt9nc1**

**Lieutenant Myst:  
I meant the Shinichi thing as a joke, sorry if you couldn't understand. As for this chapter, the poor kids! I'm going to murder those scientists for torturing them by giving them the same pain they gave the kids ten times harder *cracks knuckles*.**

**Skai:  
Sorry, I thought you were genuinely confused. It's a bit hard to tell tones through writing. And yes, the poor kids. I disagree with you; ten times worse is not enough. Let's give them the same pain a **_**thousand **_**times worse!**

**Hiyori:  
I am sad to read what Senichi and the other children went through T,T I hope they stay strong.**

**Skai:  
Yes, it is quite saddening what they have to suffer, especially since they're so young. Once again, it only gets worse. **


	13. Cry

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc II  
Chapter VI  
Cry  
Warnings: Assisted Suicide, Forced Fighting, Character Death**

Shuichi Akai had just turned eleven years old. "Hey Senichi," He whispered, still lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. "It's been a year since you disappeared. S…" He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Some people believe that you're dead. They believe that whoever had kidnapped you had already killed you," His voice was very shaky as he continued. "We both turn eleven today. This is my first birthday without you. Everyone is telling me that I could still celebrate it as it's also my birthday, not just yours,"

He grabbed a tissue and rubbed his eyes. "I don't _want _to celebrate it without you. It's so painful. It's so unbelievable that you're not here with me. I don't believe that you're dead. Nobody found your corpse yet, so you must still be out there. Senichi, I promise you that no matter where you are, I'll find you. I'll bring you back home,"

Tsutomu had heard his eldest son's monologue from outside his door. _'Shuichi…I know you feel great sadness but I'm sure Senichi wouldn't want you to be sad on your guys' birthday. Senichi…I'm sorry that we haven't found you and rescued you yet. But please, please continue waiting. We _will _reunite with you one day. Don't give up,'_

XXX

Their living conditions slightly improved. The scientist included a small amount of meat in Cell J's diet. This was a great relief to them as they had only lived off water and bread for the first couple months since they had arrived. They also had an increase in the amount of water for their rations. The scientist treated them as mere pets, as mere test subjects. Though it enraged them, they didn't dare push their luck. They were just grateful for the food and water. Of course they were forced to go to the lab and still had multiple tests conducted on them. After months of visits to the lab, they have grown used to the painful routine.

Senichi managed to catch sight of the date during one of the trips to the lab. _'So it's our birthday, huh. I can't believe we've been here for almost a year already. I never thought that I'd spend my eleventh birthday away from home. Shuichi, I hope you're enjoying your birthday. Don't cry. Don't be sad. I've already celebrated my eleventh birthday in the Real World as Michael Leo Field,' _He tried to think about his past life's eleventh birthday but could not recall most of his memories before his high school years. The ones that he did remember were very fuzzy and blurry. _'Still no luck recalling those memories. Well, it's not like those memories matter anyway,'_

XXX

Through the fights, they managed to identify that Brendan had wolf DNA, Harimanna had tiger DNA, and Senichi had polar bear DNA. They weren't able to utilize the animal attribute for too long and could only activate them in short bursts when in danger. After a few weeks, they had managed to activate them without fainting, though it still had a heavy toll on their body. They were extremely exhausted after deactivating and their bodies were in intense pain.

Their abilities did not really change. Senichi, Brendan, and Harimanna all still had clawed hands and feet as well as fangs. Ahren still had snake fangs and a forked tongue, though it was discovered that Ahren could inject venom, though a less potent version of the black mamba's, into his opponents. He was also more susceptible to the cold but as long as he huddled with the others at night, he would be fine.

It was a year and a half after their kidnapping that Ahren started coughing up blood in the middle of the night. He claimed to be fine and begged them not to tell anyone. He didn't want to be seen as an easy target. About a month later, Ahren woke up Senichi at night while Brendan and Harimanna slept. "I'm dying,"

"Yeah, that much is pretty obvious," Senichi mumbled. "You're coughing up blood. I…I wish there was something I could do for you,"

"I probably won't even last another week," The fourteen year old closed his eyes. "I noticed that it gets worse every time I activate the black mamba DNA inside me and it gets even worse when I use venom. I think my own venom has been slowly poisoning me,"

"You can't die!" Senichi pleaded. "What about Brendan and Harimanna? What about your guys' mother?"

"I don't even know if Mutti is even alive," Ahren said. "But we both know that I don't have much time left. I don't want to die in this cell. I want to die in the arena. I want you to be the one to kill me,"

"W-What?" Senichi stared at him as if he had grown another head. _'Kill him? No! No, I can't! I can't kill my friend! I won't do it!' _"No!"

"Sen," Ahren smiled weakly. "You winning the fight will get us a reward-size rations instead of the normal size we get whenever we're not fighting. It's the least I could do before I die,"

"What about your siblings?" Senichi pointed out. "Are you just going to leave them behind?"

"I need you to look after them," Ahren pleaded. "Please, Senichi, I need you to stay by their side,"

_'If he dies here, in this cell, then we won't get anything,' _Senichi thought. _'But if he dies by my hand, we'll have a benefit. Ahren's right. As much as I hate it, Ahren's right,'_ "You need to tell Brendan and Harimanna. Don't leave so suddenly. Don't leave without saying goodbye,"

"I will," And he did. He told them in the morning when they woke up. He was hugged by his crying siblings who didn't want him to die. But in the end, Ahren's decision did not change.

XXX

The fight came in the afternoon. Ahren had requested the fight days earlier, claiming that it'd spice up the battle and that he had wanted to get rid of Senichi to secure larger portions of food for his siblings. The scientist was fooled by the act and agreed to the fight.

The two acted aggressive in the beginning of the battle as if they were enemies. They dragged it out for a bit in order for it to seem convincing. Then, they got serious and soon Senichi had to deliver the final blow. "Protect them, Senichi," Ahren whispered with a smile.

Tears started falling against his will. "I promise…I'll protect them in your stead, Ahren…" Senichi broke his neck.

XXX

Senichi held Brendan and Harimanna close as all three of them sobbed at the loss. They had no appetite to eat the two loaves of bread and pieces of meat, nor could they even bring themselves to drink the four bowls of water. But they had to force themselves to consume the food and water. Ahren wouldn't want them to die of starvation or dehydration. He wanted them to live.

_'I see now,' _Senichi thought. _'Nobody is going to save us. We're all doomed to die here,'_

**END OF ARC II**

* * *

**Hiyori:  
Oh no, so they will have animal DNA in their body for the rest of their lives? ;( Poor them T,T**

**Skai:  
Yes, they will have the animal DNA for the rest of their lives. They will also suffer the side effects whenever they use their animal attributes.**

**Lieutenant Myst:  
Sorry, I should of added 'insert sarcastic tone' in my review. For some reason though, the inserting animal DNA makes me think of the RE3 game that is coming out soon, I don't know why though.  
However, if we give them the same pain a thousand times worse, they would be dead. It needs to be slow, painful, and makes them want to wish they were dead. That's the kind of pain they should suffer through instead of it being quick.**

**Skai:  
No need to apologize, it was a mistake on my part.  
Hmm, I understand your reasoning on why it should be ten times worse rather than a thousand times. What if we increase their pain sensitivity? An injury like a tiny paper cut will feel like their entire finger is being chopped off. It'll still be a paper cut's worth of physical injury so they won't die as fast but it will feel even worse.**


	14. Rescue

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter I  
Rescue  
Warnings: Minor Character Deaths, Implied Cannibalism**

Two years. It had been two years since Senichi had first been kidnapped. It had been two years since he had last seen his family. He had long since given up on hopes of seeing them. He gave up on the thought that they would ever be rescued. After all, Ahren Klein died by his hands. How would the rest of them be able to achieve freedom? They were destined to die for the sadistic humans' entertainment. Could those monsters even be called humans? They enjoyed the sight of innocent people's suffering. It was disgusting. They shouldn't be labeled as humans.

Currently, they were all huddled in the farthest corner from the cell bars. Screams echoed throughout the corridor. While that was typical, these screams were much louder and sounded closer than usual. The scent of blood was even stronger. There were also several gunshots as well as an intense heat that filled the area. Soon, they saw the raging inferno.

Senichi trembled even more. He had never gotten over his pyrophobia. In fact, his pyrophobia had gotten worse after the branding. _'I can't run away,' _He thought. _'I need t-to stay with Bren and Manna. There's n-nowhere to run,'_

A tall Japanese man came into sight, unfazed by the chaos and destruction around him. He paused and scrutinized the three children for a moment before speaking. _"Do you wish to live?"_

_ 'Japanese?' _Senichi stood up and glared back up at the man, but he did not activate his animal attributes. _"Yes,"_

_ "I can see the fighting spirit in all three of you," _The man said. _"I have killed everyone else here. Are you not afraid of me?"_

_ "We _will _live," _Senichi declared, not backing down.

_"You have guts, boy," _The man mused. _"Those brats behind you are your siblings?"_

_ "They are mine to protect," _Senichi tried to focus only on the man and ignore the flames.

_"Show me your determination," _The man broke the lock on the cell door and opened it wide. _"Let's see how long you'll last,"_

"Who are you?" Brendan demanded.

"I am called Jenever," The man switched to English so that Brendan and Harimanna could also understand. "And you brats? Your names?"

"Senichi Akai," He answered without second thought. His mind and body were both too exhausted to bother coming up with an alias.

Jenever motioned to the twins. "And those brats?"

"Brendan Klein," Brendan answered coldly, refusing to be seen as weak. "My sister's Harimanna Klein,"

Harimanna looked to Senichi. "Are we really going with him?"

"Would you rather die here?" Jenever scoffed. "Let's get going before the escape route is cut off,"

The twelve year old and two six year olds followed their savior through the maze of hallways. Brendan and Harimanna gripped the elder's hands tightly, doing their best to comfort him since they knew of Senichi's pyrophobia. They ignored the corpses of the buildings' inhabitants and Senichi couldn't help but mentally smirk at the sight of their torturers lying in a pool of their own blood, lifeless eyes dull and mouth agape as if they were still attempting to scream for mercy in death.

When they first stepped outside, they froze up. It had been two years since they had last been outdoors, two years since they had last _seen _the outdoors. "Stop standing there or I'm leaving you guys behind," Jenever's words snapped them out of their trance and they followed him to his car.

The wind felt like knives against their thin, frail bodies, irritating their wounds and causing a stinging sensation. They both loved and hated the feeling. They hated it for the pain it was causing them but at the same time they loved it because it was a reminder that they were outside, that they weren't dreaming, that they were truly leaving Mad Dog Arena.

Stopping at Jenever's car, Senichi reached for the door's handle but hesitated. "Sir…are…are we really allowed?"

"Just shut the fuck up and get in," Jenever grumbled. "Hurry up before I change my mind,"

Senichi opened the door and allowed Brendan and Harimanna to enter before he did, pulling the door shut after he was seated. The softness was the seat felt so foreign to them. It was a vast difference to the hard concrete floor of Cell J or the cold metal tables of the lab. It took a while for Senichi to remember the seatbelts and he helped buckle up Brendan and Harimanna. He felt them tense up and only realized why after he himself had his own seatbelt on.

It felt suffocating and had the same feeling as the leather straps used to bound them to the metal tables and the whips used to mark up their bodies. Senichi saw that Brendan and Harimanna were nervously transforming their nails back and forth into claws. Thankfully Jenever took no notice as he was focused on driving, keeping his eyes on the road as they left the destroyed hellhole.

In an attempt to calm his friends down, Senichi directed their attention to the windows. They stared at the night sky filled with twinkling stars. They watched as the trees and bushes blurred by. They saw various buildings as they traveled through the city. The entire car ride was silent except for the hum of the car engine and the children's soft gasps of awe.

_ 'I can't trust this man a hundred percent,' _Senichi thought. _'I already foolishly gave out my real name and didn't stop Bren and Manna from doing the same. This man said he killed everyone in Mad Dog Arena. He's dangerous. But still…I am willing to put a tiny bit of trust in him. He took us away from Mad Dog Arena. He freed us from our prison,'_

XXX

Craton sat in the Akai Family living room. "A meat production company, Feral Flavors, was rumored to have been mixing human meat into the beef products they were selling,"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mary frowned. "We don't eat any Feral Favor products,"

"This has to do with Senichi," Alistair spoke up. He hadn't visited the Akai Family's home since Senichi had disappeared. After his friend's kidnapping, he had no reason to come by.

"I did some extensive research," Craton paused and itched for a cigar but didn't dare smoke in the presence of the children. "Apparently they had an underground business too. They're called Mad Dog Arena,"

"A dog fighting rink?" Tsutomu's blood boiled at the thought. "If they needed more dogs, why did they kill Sable then? Why did they kidnap Senichi?"

"It's not a _dog_ fighting rink," Craton exhaled. "It's a _human _fighting rink. They used _children_. Children that lived on the streets. Children that they took away from loving homes. They used innocent children of various ages, forcing them to fight for cruel entertainment purposes,"

"Ch…Children?"

"Where's Senichi!?" Shuichi demanded. "If my brother is there, then we need to go and get him! Why are we just standing around here for!?"

"By the time my men arrived at the location, the place was destroyed," Craton informed. "The people inside were all dead with bullets in their bodies and their corpses burnt to a crisp. It wasn't just the children but also the people working for Mad Dog Arena,"

"W-What are you saying?" Tsutomu stuttered.

"Though forensics are still in the process of identifying the multitude of corpses, there is a strong chance that Senichi was among the victims," Craton responded. "I'm sorry,"

* * *

**Jenever is a juniper-flavored liquor. You know what that means. He's a codenamed operative of the organization. Senichi didn't recognize it as an alcohol because you can't expect an underaged boy to remember every single alcohol in existence, he was in hell for two years, and Jenever could kinda pass off as a normal name like Gin and Jin.**

**Hiyori:  
Poor Ahren T,T now Senichi, Brendan & Harimanna are left *cry*  
Shuichi & Senichi are 11 years old now, so its 1 year left before Senichi gets forced into the organization…**

**Skai:  
I kinda did a small time skip because it was pretty much just fighting and killing and it would've gotten repetitive. **


	15. Hatchlings

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter II  
Hatchlings  
Warnings: None**

The funeral took place two weeks later. Senichi's body hadn't been identified but it was a strong possibility that he was amongst the unidentifiable corpses. Shuichi hugged his remaining younger brother as the latter wailed loudly. _'Sen…everyone else thinks that you're dead. I don't believe that you died. I can feel it. I can tell that you're alive. I promise you, Senichi, that I'll bring you home,'_

Mary sat by her sons. _'I'm sorry, Senichi. As your mother, it was my job to ensure your safety. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you. I'm a terrible mother! I failed you! I'm so sorry, Senichi!'_

Tsutomu and Kohji stood a bit away from the rest of the crowd. "I can't believe that he's dead," Kohji's voice faltered. "There's a slim chance that he wasn't among the corpses…but then where is he?"

"Whether he's alive or dead," It pained him to say those words. "We still have to go along with the plan to fake your death and for me to disappear. I'm sure he wouldn't want you joining him in the afterlife," They had thought that Senichi would play an active role in the prevention of the tragic events.

XXX

The car came to a halt in front of a large building. The three kids followed Jenever wordlessly inside and grew nervous under the stares they received from the other people that they passed by. "My, my," The voice of someone all too familiar caused Senichi to tense up. "Who are these three ducklings following you, Jenever?"

Senichi glanced up and stared at the crow. _'W-Why is she here!? She's supposed to be in America or Japan! Why is Vermouth in England!? How does Jenever know her!? No…the reason why he was able to bring down Mad Dog Arena by himself was because he's a trained assassin! He's a member of the organization! There's no way that we'd be rescued without doing something in return…'_

"New recruits," Jenever grunted. "Saw that they had a fighting spirit in their eyes and decided to give them a chance,"

"Recruits?" Brendan whipped his head to face the man. "We didn't agree to join your group!"

"It's not a group, it's an organization," Jenever pressed the barrel of his gun to Brendan's forehead. "The only way out for you three alive is by joining. If you refuse, then I can simply put a bullet through each of your skulls,"

"You bastard…" Brendan gritted his teeth.

"I see that we are in agreement," Jenever tucked his gun back into its holster.

"Where are we?" Harimanna asked.

"The base of the organization's British branch," Jenever answered. "If any of you three try anything, you'll be killed immediately. If you try to run away and escape, you won't even make it to the door. Throw away your old names. From this day forth, your original identity is dead. Here, you will forge new names and serve the organization,"

'_We're being forcibly recruited into the organization!' _Senichi glared at the two codenamed agents with rage-filled eyes. _'That means that these two, Brendan and Harimanna, don't resemble Gin and Curacao out of pure coincidence. They _are _Gin and Curacao!'_

Senichi's new name was Nathan Fredrick Leonidas. Brendan's new name was Markus Lazarath Brett. Harimanna's new name was Natalie Bates Akostah. Senichi was confused by the name choices and noted a pattern. "Did you guys just make our initials NFL, MLB, and NBA?" _'Fuck, of all the stupid things I could've said! This is a _crow _I just questioned! And he's not any normal crow, he's a codenamed member capable of bringing down Mad Dog Arena by himself!'_

"Shut up NFL. They are great names," Jenever said. "You got any better ideas? Actually, don't answer that. Frankly, I don't give a shit about your opinion. I'm the one in charge here so they'll be your names from now on,"

"Jenever, what are their actual names?" Vermouth asked, unamused by the man's choices.

"Don't remember, don't give a shit," Jenever mumbled.

"I'm Senichi…" _'I don't want to answer with Akai. Vermouth might remember it and recognize it when Akai's true allegiance is revealed. I have to use my actual first name since that's how Bren and Manna address me and there might be slip ups in the future,' _"My name is Senichi Field,"

Brendan and Harimanna both casted a glance in Senichi's direction but other than that, made no reaction to the lie. "I'm Brendan Stein," Brendan lied, also deceiving Vermouth with his surname. "This is my sister, Harimanna Stein,"

_'The fake surname they chose is too close to their actual surname, Klein, but I guess it's all he could think of,' _Senichi thought. _'At least it won't immediately trace them back to their mother and won't endanger her…if she is alive. Even if Vermouth saw through our lies, I doubt she'd care much as currently we are nobodies in the organization,'_

"They're malnourished," Vermouth noted. "Will they be able to keep up with the training regimen?"

"Give them a some rest and some vitamins and I'm sure they'll be fine," Jenever shrugged. "They survived Mad Dog Arena so I'm sure they can survive the organization's training,"

"Send them to the med bay," Vermouth ordered. "See if they're salvageable,"

Salvageable. Senichi glared at Vermouth for using that word. It was as if Vermouth were staring at a pile of objects that had been tossed out into the curb and was rooting through anything that could be used. She thought of them as objects, not humans. Then again, why would she care? She was the boss' favorite, thus she was untouchable. She was cruel and wouldn't bat an eye if given the order to murder a child.

Jenever sighed and did as he was told, leading the three children to the medical wing. The area smelled strongly of antiseptics. It terrified the trio and caused a shiver to crawl up their spines. The infirmary, with its cleanliness and medical instruments, reminded them of the scientist, his lab, and the cruel experiments conducted on them.

Their fingers and lips twitched, but they forced themselves to refrain from showing their animal abilities. Not only would it exhaust them after the activation time was over, but they would be completely vulnerable. They would have no surprises to use to their advantage. The organization would end up experimenting on them just like the scientist did. They would forever be lab rats.

Jenever left the room, mumbling something about needing a smoke. The three kids were filthy and would have to be properly cleaned up before their wounds could be tended to. Each of the three nurses took them and that was when Senichi started acting up. He wouldn't allow himself to be separated from Brendan and Harimanna. They were his to protect. He had promised Ahren that he'd protect them. Brendan and Harimanna also struggled against the nurses' hold, refusing to be alone with these strangers.

Finally, the nurses gave in and cleaned up all three together. They were stripped of their clothes and their skin was scrubbed roughly. The soap and water stung their skin. Once they were dried up, they were each given a set of clothes to change into. The cleanliness felt uncomfortable and foreign. It had been too long since they had last taken a shower. It felt out of place.

The three shifted nervously as the nurses took note of the wounds that adorned the kids' bodies. The doctor finally arrived and were given the rundown. He looked to the three children and Senichi could see that the man was genuinely worried about their health. He gave his instructions to the nurses and the four started to tend to disinfect and bandage their wounds.

* * *

**Hiyori:  
Their torturers got what they deserved, but now the children are going to be in the next hell, the Black Organization T,T**

**Skai:  
At least the organization won't be as bad as Mad Dog Arena. They'll get proper meals.**


	16. Nestling

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter III  
Nestling  
Warnings: None**

The room they were staying in had the bare minimum. It had a digital wall clock, a pair of two tier bunk beds, three desks, and three chairs. The entire room was bland with everything being some shade of grey. They had each been given three sets of uniforms, a toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a towel, a comb, a bar of soap, and a backpack. Their clothes were all mute grey long-sleeved shirts, underwear, and long pants. They all received a pair of boots. Inside each backpack were three pencils, three pens, a pack of folder paper, a notebook, and a folder. In their folder was their schedule. All of them had the same schedule.

_0500 Wake Up  
0530 Physical Training  
0630 Personal Time  
0700 Breakfast  
0800 Math  
0930 Science  
1100 History  
1230 Lunch  
1330 English Language Arts  
1500 Japanese  
1630 Marksmanship  
1800 Combat Training  
1900 Dinner  
2000 Survival Skills  
2100 Personal Time  
2200 Lights Out _

_'0500 is 5:00 AM and 2200 is 10:00 PM,' _Senichi noted. _'We'll have half an hour after we wake up to get ready and then we have an hour of physical training, probably exercise drills to strengthen our muscles. Personal time is probably time used for showering and doing whatever homework we are given. I'm actually surprised that the first half is basically like a normal class schedule. Then again, I'm sure Karasuma Renya wants his operatives to have at least the basic knowledge of each subject,'_

"Behind the schedule is a map," Harimanna informed, flipping the page over.

Senichi glanced at the clock. "It's almost nine o'clock. We should get to bed," _'I guess we're not eating dinner tonight. It's nothing new. We've gone days without food before. One more won't be that much of a hinderance to us. We ate the night before we were freed so we won't starve to death,' _"I'm taking one of the top bunks," He climbed onto the nearest bunk and got into bed. _'This way, if we get attacked in the middle of the night, I'll be able to leap onto them and buy some time for Bren and Manna to escape,'_

Brendan took the other top bunk while Harimanna took the bunk below her brother. "Is this real?" Harimanna asked. "Did we really leave Mad Dog Arena? Can we really stay here?"

"It's so hard to believe," Brendan added. "After two years…after two years, we're finally free,"

"We're not truly free but as close to free as we'll get," Senichi corrected them. "We're still under the command of the organization. But at least we have more to our lives than just killing and staying cooped up in a cell. And we'll have three meals a day. That's another positive," _'You guys don't truly know the full extent of this organization,'_

"If only…if only Ahren had survived just a little longer…" Brendan's voice strained to say those words. "Then he could've escaped with us…"

"I'm sorry," Senichi apologized. "I should've done something to help him,"

"Sen, you couldn't have done anything," Harimanna told him. "We were all too weak and too afraid to fight back. Even if we did fight back, we'd all have been immediately killed or suffer even worse experiments,"

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow," Senichi said. "We need the rest," _'I can't believe that these two are actually Gin and Curacao. I…I really want to change their personality. I don't want them to become the evil people they are in the future. But…I can't risk that. I can't risk having their emotions get in the way of developing and growing. Those are the reasons that they survived. Those are the reasons that they became Gin and Curacao. They don't have any worth to the organization like Akemi did because of Shiho, so they'll be expendable if they don't become useful,'_

_ "Protect them, Senichi,"_

Senichi rested his eyelids once he heard Brendan and Harimanna's breathing even out, indicating they were asleep. They were all light sleepers, but sleep was still sleep. _'I can't let them die. I made a promise to Ahren. I promised that I'd protect them. Those two have to become Gin and Curacao. And I, I will also become a codenamed crow. I will also survive,' _His thoughts went back to the conversation he had with Tsutomu when he first revealed that he was a reincarnate.

"_You are my son!" Tsutomu brought him into a tight hug. "The world you know about is a different world, one where you don't exist in. But we're not in that world. In this world, you are my son. Don't go saying that you're not my child!"_

_ 'Do you still think of me as your son now?' _Senichi thought. _'You must hate me. I'm a murderer. I killed other innocent children. I killed my own friend. And now, I've become a member of the very organization that is going after Kohji's life. From now on, I'm going to live a life of crime,'_ A sad smile made his way to his lips. _'Who am I kidding? Of course you would disown me if you knew of the things I've done,' _Tears started forming but he wiped them away. _'Who wants a kid with a murderous past? I was never meant to be yours to begin with,'_

XXX

There was a harsh banging at the door at exactly 5:00 AM. On instinct, the three kids got on the offensive and bared their fangs and claws. It took them a few minutes to finally realize where they were. They weren't in Mad Dog Arena, they were in their quarters at the organization's base. Senichi jumped down and opened the door, thankful that Jenever hadn't opened the door. If he had, then he would've seen their body modifications.

"You brats better wake up on your own from now on," Jenever grunted. "I'm only waking you guys up because it's your first day here. In half an hour, head to physical training," He tossed them each an ID. "Those are your IDs. Keep them with you at all times," Without even waiting for a response, Jenever left them.

"We have half an hour so let's at least brush our teeth," Senichi suggested. "We should shower after physical training since we have another half hour of personal time,"

The twins agreed and did their best to comb their hairs a bit. They reached into their backpacks and withdrew their toothbrushes and toothpastes before heading down to where the bathrooms were located. "Manna, will you be alright?" Brendan asked, noting that the bathrooms were segregated by gender.

"I'll be fine," Despite her confidence, the two boys could sense her hesitation as she entered alone.

The bathrooms were crowded with people using the toilets and attempting to get to an open sink to wash their hands and brush their teeth. Everyone shoved each other to get an open spot. The large mass of people was suffocating and they had to resist the urge to growl at the kids who shoved them. Their bodies wanted to kill everyone in the room. It had been etched into their muscles. Unfair fights were not uncommon in Mad Dog Arena. Senichi himself had to go against multiple enemies by himself at some points.

All three of them regrouped outside the bathrooms and returned to their room change into their uniforms before heading down to the location where physical training would take place. To their surprise, it was a large indoor field complete with fake grass. Several other kids arrived, all of them varying by age and ethnicity. Jenever was their instructor and ordered them to run three laps around the field. It was nothing for Senichi, Brendan, and Harimanna. They easily kept up with the rest of the children but didn't surpass the ones at the front. They stayed in the middle in order to preserve energy for the rest of the day.

After the laps, the children were given a short break and everyone sprinted to the water fountains. The three managed to be one of the firsts to arrive and took several grateful gulps of water. It had been forever since they were allowed to drink as much as they wanted. The water soothed their parched throats and sandpaper tongues. Break only lasted for ten minutes.

They then had to do multiple reps of exercises. The exercises were lunges, pushups, burpees, plants and sit-ups. Once everyone was done, dumbbells were brought in and everyone lined up to be given a specific weight. They all worked on their reps until the clock in the area turned to 6:30 and everyone was dismissed for personal time.

Knowing that it would be as crowded as it was during morning prep time, the three sprinted to their rooms to grab a change of clothes, a towel, and their soap. They rushed to the shower stalls, dodging everyone who was in the hallway. They made it to the showers, once again divided into one for boys and one for girls, and enjoyed the warm water. There were stalls that they were grateful for so nobody could see the various scars on their body. The warm water helped soothe their aching muscles.

XXX

At seven o'clock, they were already at the cafeteria. Breakfast was a slice of toast with two tablespoons of peanut butter and an apple. After seeing their IDs, the cafeteria workers had given the three of them each a cup of some sort of liquid instead of the cup of caffeinated tea everyone else was served. Upon inquiry, they were told that the fluids would help them recover from malnutrition faster.

They sat down at an empty table far away from everyone else. _'This really isn't a lot of food compared to the third of a loaf of bread we got in Mad Dog Arena,' _Senichi thought, salivating at the sight. _'But those rations would have to last us for days at a time. This here is only one meal. We get three meals a day,' _

"This is delicious," Harimanna commented as she ate the apple first. "Fresh food. Fresh _fruit_. We never got to eat fruits,"

"Peanut butter," Brendan mumbled, taking small bites of the toast. "I'm not really fond of the toast though,"

"Agreed," Senichi nodded. "We _did_ live off of it for two years. But we can't be picky, Bren. We eat to survive. The peanut butter will help cover up some of the toast's flavor,"

"Yeah," Brendan nodded.

* * *

**Fade to Darkness Opening: youtu DOT be SLASH _iKeF5l_1kU**

**Hiyori:  
Well, at least they can clean themselves and get proper meals :)  
Will Jonah/Cognac also be here?**

**Skai:  
Unfortunately, being part of the organization is basically the same thing as Mad Dog Arena. The difference is that the ring is larger and the rewards are better. If you don't kill your opponent (the mission target) then you will be killed. Jonah/Cognac _might _make a brief appearance during the final battle, but he won't be paired with Senichi. Senichi will be paired with a canon character.**

**Tsuki:  
T_T…This is the first 'sad but realistic' way I ever read about how OC joins the org…**

**Skai:  
I believe that there are definitely at least some members who joined the organization out of survival. If a street urchin is skilled enough and garners the organization's attention as someone with potential, I'm sure they'd be recruited.**


	17. Pullus

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter IV  
Pullus  
Warnings: Attempted Murder**

After breakfast, the three had enough time to grab their backpacks from their room before heading to math class. The lessons were a bit more complex for their age group but they were expected to learn it. Senichi didn't have any troubles since he had died when he was seventeen years old. Also, after Tsutomu had found out about The Truth, he taught Senichi some high school senior level lessons from time to time. The same thing applied to science and history, though for history, Senichi actually had to pay attention since he didn't know everything about the past.

Lunch was when the trouble began. For lunch, the three were served a slice of toast, a hard-boiled egg, a cup of green beans, and a cup of the same nutritional drink they had been given at breakfast. They were just minding their own business and consuming their meal when a group of fourteen and fifteen year olds approached their table.

"You should respect your betters," The apparent leader snatched up Brendan's egg. "After all, you're newbies so you should give us your food,"

"Give it back," Senichi demanded. _'How dare you steal their food!?'_

"Oh, are you their older brother?" The leader mocked. "What will you do about it?"

"I said," Senichi stood up and glared straight into the leader's eyes. "Give. It. Back!"

The commotion drew the attention of the other children as well as the adults overlooking the place. "Let's see how they'll deal with this," Jenever prevented anyone else from interfering. He wanted to see how well the three fought.

"What are you going to do about it?" The leader smirked.

_'I was told that violence is never the answer, but since this is the organization and this guy is pissing me off…' _Senichi reeled his arm back.

But it was Harimanna who struck first. She launched herself at the leader and knocked him down to the floor. Her hands automatically wrapped around the older boy's throat and tightened enough to cut off the teen's airflow. The other members of the boy's gang tried to pull her off their leader but that triggered Brendan and Senichi to step in. They wouldn't let those bastards harm Harimanna.

Seeing that Harimanna was _actually _going to kill the boy and not wanting to deal with the paperwork involved with a murder incident, Jenever finally stepped in and pulled her off. "You three did good,"

"She tried to murder me!" The leader screamed.

"That just proves that you're weak," Jenever scoffed. "All of you guys are. These three arrived just last night. They're also malnourished. You guys have been training for years, yet you lost to them. If I hadn't intervened, you would be dead,"

The three ate the rest of their lunch in peace.

XXX

After lunch was English Language Arts. It was a bit different from the way it was taught in England's public schools. In the organization, English Language Arts was meant to improve observative and deductive abilities. They had to pay close attention to tiny details and come up with the correct conclusions and the right actions to take. Senichi actually enjoyed the class because the skills would be useful in the future.

In Japanese class, Senichi had it a bit easier due to his Japanese lineage and his father's teaching. He tended to confuse hiragana, katakana, and kanji, but he did speak the language fluently. He assisted Brendan and Harimanna. German was their first language and English was their second one. But they eventually got the hang of it and was able to do the work themselves.

Marksmanship class is when Senichi really started to struggle. He had a terrible aim. Despite the fact that he was trying his hardest, he still scored the lowest points out of everyone. Harimanna on the other hand was a natural talent while Brendan scored a bit above average. _'At least I don't have to worry about those two,' _Senichi thought. _'Though, I need to get better. Right now I'm dispensable. I need to become a prized operative. I need to prove my worth in order to survive alongside Bren and Manna,'_

Combat training was next. Jenever was the one in charge of instructing that class. Everyone was put into pairs to spar and Senichi was up against the leader who had disturbed their lunch. "I may have underestimated that girl, but I won't lose against you!" The boy lunged at Senichi.

_ 'His movements are slow,' _Senichi dodged the first attack. _'It's as if everything is playing is slow motion,' _He dodged the next one. _'I'll bring him down with one strike,' _He closed his eyes and channeled some of his bear traits into his arm but not enough to show a noticable difference in his arm's appearance. He dodged the incoming attack and slammed his fist in the boy's chest. _'He's nothing compared to Mad Dog Arena!' _"I won't lose to the likes of you!"

"Don't you _ever _mess with us," Brendan and Harimanna had also easily defeated their opponents.

Jenever knelt down and tapped the boy's cheek. "He's out cold, though judging from his breathing I think you broke some of his ribs, NFL,"

_ 'Is he still seriously calling us by those names?'_ Senichi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he restrained himself from talking back to him.

Dinner consisted of a hotdog, a cup of broccoli, three saltine crackers, and a cup of the nutritional drink. Nobody messed with them during this mealtime. The three kids ate without interruption. They savored the explosion of flavors in their mouth, enjoying the food that they were given. Senichi's body was a bit tired from using his bear attributes but the food allowed him to regain his energy quickly.

Survival skills taught them the basics. They learned how to start a fire, how to find fresh water, and all those things that one would learn in the scouts. They were also trained to lie and how to detect lies as well as how to act. Lying was an essential skill to fool enemies. Convincing lies could help save your life.

XXX

During personal time, everyone rushed to the showers and bathrooms yet again. Once they were all done, they returned to their quarters to complete their homework. "This isn't as bad as I thought it'd be," Harimanna said. "I can live like this,"

"It's definitely better than Mad Dog Arena," The six year old agreed with his sister.

"It's not like we have a choice even if we don't want to live here," Senichi added. "We won't die, not in here," _'I won't die until the organization is brought down! I'll make my way up the ladder and destroy it from the inside!' _Being rescued by the organization may have devastated him at first, but he decided to look on the positive side and use his new situation to his advantage.

* * *

**Tsuki:  
Thanks for the update :)**

**Skai:  
Thanks for reading. **


	18. Japan

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter V  
Japan  
Warnings: None**

A year had passed. Senichi was now thirteen years old and Brendan and Harimanna were seven. They had quickly grown accustomed to the daily routine of the place that Senichi had dubbed Crow Academy. They had started to grow again but were still a bit shorter than those in their age groups due to the two years of malnutrition they suffered in Mad Dog Arena.

Early one morning, Jenever loudly knocked on their door and rudely awoke them from their slumber. Senichi jumped down and opened the door. "Jenever, it's not even five yet,"

"NFL, MLB, NBA, you three have exceeded the other kids here despite only being here for a year," Jenever announced. "You're going to be transferred to Japan,"

_'Japan? That's a whole other country,' _"We don't have passports," Senichi pointed out.

"Pfft, you've been here for a year already," Jenever scoffed. "You think the organization isn't capable of faking IDs and passports?"

_ 'Says the guy who isn't capable of remembering our names and just calls us by the abbreviation of sport league abbreviations,' _Senichi thought but held his tongue. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now," Jenever answered, tossing each of them a passport. "You don't need your stuff. You're even starting to outgrow the uniforms from last year. You'll be given new clothes once we get to the base in Japan. So let's get going,"

XXX

They were running late. There had been an accident in the route that they were taking and thus delaying their journey. "Who the hell gets into a traffic accident this early in the morning!?" Jenever groaned. "We're gonna miss our flight at this rate!"

The three kids' senses have been enhanced a bit due to the human experimentation they suffered. The loud sounds didn't bother their hearing due to them already being used to the raucous yells in Crow Academy, but their noses slightly wrinkled at the scents being emitted by the large amount of cars in one place. They need they'd eventual get used to it. After all, in Mad Dog Arena they suffered the disgusting smell of human excrement and piss being in a nearby bucket in their cell as well as the heavy scent of blood in the arena.

Once the car was parked, Jenever ushered all three of them inside and they hurried to the gate. They arrived just in time as the final boarding was called and showed their tickets to the woman at the gate. They filed inside and all four of them sat together at their assigned seats. "It'd have been a hell of a pain if we missed our flight," Jenever mumbled.

"Sir, would you or your children like anything from our menu?" A flight attendant asked.

"I'll have a Jack Daniels," Jenever ordered.

"And your children?" The attendant inquired.

"Uh," Jenever glanced at the menu. "Get them each a kid's snack box,"

All three kids were surprised by this and watched as the stewardess placed a snack box in front of each of them. She handed a bottle of whiskey to Jenever. Jenever passed her a credit card and paid. Once the transaction was complete, the flight attendant went on her way to the other passengers. Brendan looked at the snack boxes suspiciously and then at Jenever. "Can we really eat this?"

"Yeah," Jenever nodded. "I charged this on the organization's card. I don't want to hear you guys complaining that you're hungry. Besides, it'd look bad for me if I only order booze for myself while your guys' stomachs grumble,"

The kids opened their snack boxes. They each had a squeeze pouch of applesauce, a pack of fruit snacks, a beef stick, animal crackers, a candy bar, and a box of chocolate milk. Senichi first drank the applesauce. It was a bit sweeter than the applesauce serve at Crow Academy but he still enjoyed it. He then gnawed on the beef stick and munched on the animal crackers. The candy and chocolate milk seemed so foreign to them. Such things were not offered at Crow Academy.

As Senichi sipped his chocolate milk, he stared out at the window and watched the clouds fly by. _'We're really leaving England. I…I'm leaving my family behind,' _The sweet chocolate milk tasted bitter in his mouth at the thought. _'Why am I so upset? It's already been three years since I last saw them. Being in Japan won't make any difference. They've probably already forgotten about me,'_

XXX

Tsutomu, Mary, Shuichi, and Shukichi were visiting Senichi's grave. "Hey there Sen-chan," Tsutomu greeted sadly. "It's been a year since you…since you left us for good. We're still not over your death, but we're trying to move on,"

"He's not dead!" Shuichi yelled. "Stop acting like he's dead! That's an empty casket we buried!"

"Shuichi," Mary knelt down and brought him into a hug. "They found many missing kids' corpses at Mad Dog Arena,"

"But Senichi's death was never confirmed!" The teenager snapped. "We never found his corpse! You just assumed he was one of the unidentifiable ones!"

"Shuichi," Shukichi sniffled. "If Sen is alive, where is he?"

"I…I don't know," Shuichi admitted. "But I refuse to believe he's dead. I'll look for him and when I find him, I'll bring him home,"

_'There's a part of me that desperately clings onto the tiny hope that Senichi really is alive, but could he really survive such an ordeal?' _Tsutomu thought as he placed daisy for innocence, a gladiola for strength of character, a pink carnation for gratitude, and a white carnation for remembrance in front of the grave. _'Senichi, you've already experienced death once at the young age of seventeen. And now…you've died once again, this time at an even younger age,'_

"He's still alive…" Shuichi furiously wiped at the tears that were falling. _'I can feel it in my heart. I _know _he's still alive. Why am I the only one that believes in Senichi?'_

XXX

The plane landed in Japan and Jenever lead the children into a car in the airport's parking lot. He then started driving. The kids silently watched the Japanese scenery as they drove by. _'I've always wanted to go to Japan,' _Senichi thought. _'As Michael Leo Field, I wanted to visit Akihabara one day. I wanted to go to all the places mentioned in Detective Conan. Now, I'm in Japan. But not as Michael Leo Field, not as Senichi Akai, I'm here as Senichi Field. I'm not here as an otaku and weeaboo. I'm here as a scarlet crow,'_

They were brought to the base and led into a room where two other people were. Senichi recognized the woman as Vermouth but could not pinpoint the identity of the man whose face was hidden by a mask, hat, and hood. "These two are Vermouth and Rum,"

Senichi somehow managed to keep his poker face and hide his shock. _'Rum!? But isn't he the Karasuma Renya's right hand man!? Why would he want to meet us!? Wait, calm down Sen. This is years before The Big Shrink. Rum might not be at that high of a position yet,'_

"You three have exceeded expectations," Rum's true voice was not heard and instead a voice changer altered it. "You have no place among the other students, among those inferior brats,"

"What Rum here means is that each of you will train under one of us," Jenever revealed. "We'll personally train you guys and eventually you'll get a codename just like us,"

"Codename?" Harimanna questioned.

"What, did you think my name was actually Jenever?" The man chuckled. "Nope, we use alcoholic codenames for people that are good enough,"

"You said that we'd each train under one of you," Senichi realized. "You're separating us?"

"NFL, did you really think that you, MLB, and NBA would stay together forever?" Jenever rolled his eyes.

"Jenever, did you try to name kids after sports leagues again?" Rum groaned.

"What? No," Jenever lied. "NFL, you're working under Vermouth. NBA, you're working under Rum. MLB, you're working under me,"

The thought of being separated terrified them. They had always stuck with each other ever since Mad Dog Arena. Senichi wanted to speak up about his disapproval, but the words were stuck in his throat and unable to escape. _'I promised Ahren that I'd protect them. I can't protect them if I'm not with them!'_

Brendan gritted his teeth and glared at the three adults. He wanted to lash out but he knew better than to attack them. He, Harimanna, and Senichi would all be used as leverage against each other. He refused to let them be punished for his outbursts.

"You all have new aliases," Vermouth informed. "If you hadn't noticed, it's in your passports,"

Senichi hadn't even thought about opening his passport but did so. _'Leo Vineyard. Apparently I'm Chris Vineyard's older brother and the eldest child of Sharon Vineyard. What a strange coincidence that my middle name would become the first name of an alias. How many identities do I have already? First is Michael Leo Field, my identity in the Real World. Next is Senichi Akai, my birth name in this world. After that is Senichi Field, my 'real name' that I was known by in Crow Academy. Now, I have a fourth one: Leo Vineyard,'_

* * *

**Senichi's alias is Leo Vineyard. Brendan's alias is Jin Kurosawa. Harimanna's alias is Aya Hayashi. **

**So all of the scenes in Japan will have Japanese dialogue unless otherwise stated. **

**Rum is already second-in-command in the organization but he thought mentoring a kid to become his right hand wasn't a bad idea. This is different from canon where Curacao became Rum's right hand when she was already an adult (or possibly late teens) and had accidentally memorized important information to the organization. **

**Guest:  
Why would there be a Japanese class if they're in England?**

**Skai:  
The boss of the organization is Japanese. Also, the main base is in Japan. **


	19. Leo

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter VI  
Leo  
Warnings: None**

Leo fidgeted in his seat nervously as the twin blades came near him. "Don't move around too much or you might end up cut," Vermouth ordered as she snipped at Leo's hair. "Honestly, when was the last time you had a haircut?"

"Three years ago," Leo mumbled. _'They didn't cut our hair in Mad Dog Arena nor in Crow Academy, so you can't really blame me,'_

"I can't have you soiling the name of Sharon Vineyard now, can I?" Vermouth hummed as she finished up giving Leo a haircut.

"Sharon…Vineyard?" Leo asked as if he didn't know the aliases Vermouth went by. "And who is Chris Vineyard?" _'I hope my act is convincing enough. Vermouth is sneaky and I don't' want her having any leverage against me,'_

"Both are aliases I am currently going by," Vermouth answered. "Sharon Vineyard is an American actress who is your 'mother' from now on. Chris is your younger sister by three years,"

"How can you play the role of Chris if you're supposed to be younger than me?" Leo questioned with genuine curiosity. _'How _did _you accomplish that task?'_

"Chris has never been in the limelight because her father wants her to live a normal life," Vermouth revealed the fake story to the boy. "Leo Vineyard will be kept out of the limelight for the same reason for now. Hmm, what skills do you have? I might have you become an actor too. Acting could be something that runs in the Vineyard family,"

"I'd rather not…" Leo muttered. "But I don't have a choice though, do I?"

"Depends on if you have any better ideas," Vermouth replied.

"I…I can sing," Leo hesitated. "Won't it be better to have a bit of diversity among family occupations? I don't really want to have to deal with long hours of acting,"

"Singing isn't that bad of an option," Vermouth said. "Before that, we need to improve your acting skills and your disguising techniques. You'll also need to keep up with your marksmanship and combat skills too. Leo Vineyard can debut sometime in the future. We'll cover all of your scars with makeup of course,"

_ 'With this haircut and the fact that I'd be older than when they last saw me, I doubt my family would recognize me,' _Leo thought. _'Besides, they have no reason to pay attention to a random American singer. I can probably sing Detective Conan opening and ending songs for 'original' songs since they don't exist in this world. I know it's an asshole move, but I'm not a lyricist,'_

XXX

Training with Vermouth was harsh. She was a very strict instructor and whenever Leo's performance for the day did not meet her standards, he was punished with no lunch or dinner. During those punishments, he was only provided a small breakfast to ensure that he did not die from starvation and was allowed to drink water throughout the day. Despite her appearance, Vermouth was very skilled in hand to hand combat and caused several bruises to bloom during each training session.

Leo slept in the other bedroom at Vermouth's hotel room. Although the bed was really soft and comfortable, the room itself was cold and lonely. He often stayed up for hours thinking about Harimanna and Brendan. His thoughts sometimes went to his family but he would quickly shake them away. He had to learn to forget about them. Thinking about them only brought pain and sorrows. At least with Harimanna and Brendan, or rather Aya and Jin, he would eventually meet them sometime in the future.

Leo found out that by slightly focusing on using his polar bear traits to certain parts, he could increase his defense. This lessened the amount of bruises he received from Vermouth but took up more stamina. Along with the sparring sessions and acting and disguising lessons, Leo also had to keep up with his studies and attended a public school.

He felt nervous at first since he was in public for long period of time with people he didn't know. His urge with people who were in close proximity were to attack them like he had done in Mad Dog Arena, but he forced that urge down. The thirteen year old kept to himself and avoided speaking unless the teacher called on him. He had no friends, not that he wanted anyone to be involved with him.

His hair color also set him apart from the other bullies and was a target for bullying. Leo just ignored their insults and when they confronted him physically, he easily fought back and won. After a few fights where he got off unscathed, no bullies dared to approach him.

XXX

A few months later, he received his first mission. He had to befriend Miyano Akemi in order to observe her parents, Miyano Elena and Miyano Atsushi. While trying to come up with a way to get close to her during the walk home from school, he ended up tripping and fell down some stairs. He stood up and dusted his clothes, noting that he had a scrape on his elbow. He was about to continue home when he felt a small hand grab his.

"Oniisan, your arm is bleeding!" Six year old Akemi exclaimed.

"It's nothing," Leo smiled. _'Wait, if I remember correctly, the Miyano's own a clinic. This could be my chance to get close to them,'_

"My parents are doctors," Akemi tugged on his uninjured arm. "Follow me. They can treat you,"

"Do you always approach strangers like this?" Leo inquired as he followed Akemi.

"Do you always follow strangers like this?" Akemi shot back.

Leo was caught off guard by that remark. "Touché,"

"I'm Miyano Akemi," Akemi introduced herself.

"My name's Leo Vineyard," He replied.

"Akemi, who is this?" Elena asked once the two kids arrived to her clinic.

"Leo-niisan fell down some stairs and scraped his arm," Akemi pointed to the thirteen year old's elbow.

"Sorry for the bother," Leo apologized. "Your daughter insisted that I have you treat it,"

"It's not a serious injury," Elena noted. "But since you're here, let's get it cleaned and wrapped up,"

Leo was brought into the exam room and Elena gently dabbed at the scrape with some rubbing alcohol before adding some an antibiotic and covering it with a band aid. Leo couldn't help but stared at Elena and noted the similarities between her and Mary. _'They have the same hair color and eye color, though Elena lacks the eye bags that Mom and Akai have. Elena is my aunt but…as much as I want to call her auntie, I can't. I can't let her know that I am Akai Senichi. I know that Elena and Mary are estranged sisters, but Elena could know about me if she hears my real name,'_

"Is something wrong?" Elena asked. "You've been silent all this time,"

"I'm fine," Leo smiled. "Thank you for treating me. How much is the bill?"

"It was nothing," Elena shook her head. "I didn't do much. Besides, it was a minor scrape. Just be careful and pay attention to your surroundings, okay?"

"Yes ma'am," Leo nodded.

XXX

Leo returned day after day and eventually started acting as an assistant at the Miyano Clinic. He would help tend to minor injuries and helped with cleaning up the clinic as well as organizing files. On more than one occasions Leo stayed over for dinner. The familial presence was a great change from the loneliness of his bedroom.

He hated how he was fooling them into thinking he was a normal middle schooler. He was actually just spying on them, using his friendship to find any weaknesses that the organization could use. However, he knew that this was probably done by someone else in canon so either way, the Miyano's joining the organization was inevitable.

Leo was fourteen years old when he first met eleven year old Furuya Rei after seven year old Akemi dragged him to the clinic. The boy was covered in several wounds so both Elena and Leo tended to them to get him patched up quicker. Rei came back a few days later and after that he returned another few days later. "I told you I'm fine!" He jerked his arm free from Akemi who had once again dragged him there.

"With a wound like this, I could just lick it and it'd be fine!" Rei claimed.

"We're not like animals so I suggest properly cleaning your injuries, Rei-kun," Leo scolded. "Who knows how much bacteria are in your mouth?"

"Ah, you again?" Elena said to Rei. "You sure like fighting, huh?"

"No! It's not my fault that my hair color is weird!" Rei yelled. "I was born and raised in Japan. I'm Japanese and yet…"

"Your hair color isn't weird," Leo told him. "Blond is a natural color just as brown, black, and ginger,"

"Could it be that one of your parents is a foreigner?" Elena asked.

"S-So what!?" Rei wiped furiously at the tears that threatened to fall.

"In that case, you should tell whatever friend you fought with that even though people look different, everyone is ultimately just a lump of meat and blood when you cut them open and remove their skin," Elena informed. "Everyone has red blood running through their veins! That's what you ought to tell them! Got it?"

"Y-Yes…" Rei nodded.

"Also, if they still continue to bully you, get better friends," _'If only everyone believed in those words, Aunt Elena,' _Leo thought as they treated Rei's wounds. _'The world would be much peaceful,'_

"What a rare sight," Atsushi commented to his wife. "You're usually afraid of strangers and you don't speak to patients beyond saying all necessary information. The only exception is Leo-kun but we've known him for months. Talking so friendly with an unknown boy is so unlike you,"

"Dear, those two boys are special," Elena said, referring to both Leo and Rei. "They're half-bloods, just like me. Anyway, any news in regard to moving to the institution that offered to back up your research?"

_ 'Institution?' _Leo's ears perked up though he pretended not to be eavesdropping. _'So the boss already sent them an offer. If they refuse, I'll have to be the one to threaten them. However, I've already read this chapter and watched this scene play out in the anime. They're going to accept,'_

"Yeah, I think I'll decline their offer," Atsushi answered. "Besides, I couldn't bear leaving you and Akemi. Also, your sister said to us that they're shady,"

_ 'Sister?' _Leo tried not to act like he knew who the mysterious sister was. _'Mom…'_

"But the sponsor is that Karasuma Group, right?" Elena inquired.

"Yes, but there are a lot of bad rumors going around about them," Atsushi reminded. "Besides, I wouldn't really want to be branded as some kind of 'Mad Scientist' in the scientific world,"

"But…your research isn't the kind of work that can be conducted in your spare time while working in a private practice," Elena pointed out. "And if they pay well, we could close this clinic and I could join you to help with your research,"

"It's fine," Atsushi replied. "We're earning more than enough to support the three of us,"

"The _four _of us!" Elena put a hand to her stomach. "I'm already three months along!"

"Ah, I see!" Atsushi responded at the news of his wife's pregnancy. "Well, then I'll reconsider the offer,"

"Well, I'll go home now," Rei said after Akemi was done putting band aids on him. "C-Can I come here the next time I get into a fight?"

"No!" Elena refused with a smile. "We reject children that get into fights. But if whatever pride of yours might be wounded in the process of reconciling with whoever you fought with, I' will put a band aid on it, okay?"

_ 'My mission is complete,' _Leo thought bitterly. _'I'm going to inform Vermouth that I overheard them saying that they'll accept. Then…then I won't need to come to this clinic anymore. It's not like they'll keep it open anyway,'_

* * *

**So Leo has met the Miyano Family and Rei. **

**Guest:  
So Senichi already met Rum…**

**Skai:  
Yes, but he doesn't know Rum's face or voice.**


	20. Track

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter VII  
Track  
Warnings: Kidnapping, Mentions of Child Trafficking, Slight Gore**

On the last day that the Miyano Clinic would be open, Akemi had gone missing on the way home from school. Once he was informed, Leo immediately offered to help and told Vermouth that if their daughter was missing, they wouldn't care about working for the Karasuma Group. Leo walked around the Miyano Clinic, trying to look for clues. He found none and sighed.

_'Bears have the best sense of smell of any anime on Earth,' _Leo recalled. _'Polar bears can even detect seals in the water beneath a meter of snow. I have polar bear DNA in me. My sense of smell is already strong without focusing my animal traits so maybe…maybe if I do use my animal DNA then I can track Akemi down,'_

Leo took a deep breath and slowly focused on enhancing his olfactory system. Immediately, he was overstimulated by the different scents around him and stumbled back, falling to the hard pavement. He massaged his temples, feeling a slight headache forming, before trying again. As he inhaled, he tried to block out all of the other scents and focused on the scent trails made by Akemi. He focused on the freshest scent trail and slowly retraced her steps until it became intertwined with a bunch of unfamiliar scents.

Leo returned to normal and was already panting. _'I've never tracked anyone down before. I've only used this cursed DNA to enhance my power or to kill people. This is harder than I thought and my head is pounding like hell, but I need to find Akemi!'_

He followed Akemi's scent trail but had to take several pauses along the way. _'I've never used the polar bear DNA for this length of time before,' _He fell to his knees. _'I'm nearby. Akemi, I'm almost there!' _He forced himself to his feet and enhanced his olfactory system once again. He ran towards the direction of where Akemi was. _'Her scent is getting stronger!' _

Akemi was tied up, blinded, and gagged with duct tape inside of an abandoned building. Leo's breathing had grown heavy and his legs had become wobbly. _'I need to finish this quickly…' _

"This pretty girl will sell for quite a lot,"

"Maybe instead of selling her, we'll rent her out,"

"Ooh, we'll make more money that way!"

'_Those sick bastards!' _Leo gritted his teeth. "You fuckers!"

The two kidnappers drew their guns and were now alert. "Who's there!?"

Leo focused on transforming his legs and his arms for speed and power. He held back a roar and silently lunged at the nearest kidnapper. He used his limbs to pin the man down and tore the jugular veins out with his teeth. The second kidnapper, a woman, shrieked at the sight and started firing bullets at the chimera. Leo jumped onto her and repeated the action he had done to the man. Bullets grazed him and one hit his shoulder, but he fought through the pain.

"L-Leo?" Akemi stuttered through the gag.

"You're safe now…" Leo's body returned to normal and he coughed up blood. "You're safe…" He collapsed beside the woman's corpse.

XXX

Leo regained conscious in a hospital room. Vermouth stood beside his bed. "You're in a private hospital run by the organization,"

"Akemi?" Leo rasped out.

"She's safe and with her parents," Vermouth answered. "You should've called the cops instead of charging in like that,"

"Cops, how ironic," Leo scoffed. "Those people were child traffickers. Their words pissed me off,"

"If you had been treated at a public hospital, they would've been concerned about the scars all over your body," Vermouth pointed out. "Since you're a minor, Child Protective Services would investigate me and my 'husband' which would be a pain to deal with,"

"Sorry," Leo muttered. _'I do not regret killing those bastards though. They deserved a fate worse than death, but I could only grant them death itself,'_

"You have a lot of explaining to do though," Vermouth held up a bunch of photos of the crime scene. "These are animal bite marks and claw marks, specifically those of a bear. I told the police that some wild bear attacked you and the two kidnappers, though fortunately you were only knocked out and Miyano Akemi was left unharmed. They actually believed that story,"

_'Shit. I have no choice but to tell her,' _Leo cursed. "The scientist at Mad Dog Arena conducted human experiments. I was forcefully given polar bear DNA,"

"Jin and Aya?"

"Wolf and tiger," Leo answered. "Accessing the animal DNA inside of us causes exhaustion and using it for long periods of time causes us to cough up blood," _'She'd find out whether if I told her or not. I'd rather not end up on her bad side where she forces the answer out of me,'_

"Your name should've been Kuma instead of Leo then," Vermouth hummed. "You should use that ability of yours more often in our sparring sessions,"

"What?"

"You need to utilize it more or else it's going to waste," Vermouth answered. "That type of power could be a valuable asset to the organization,"

* * *

**This is the shortest chapter yet, but I felt that it should end here. Yes, Vermouth is only finding about the animal DNA now. Rum and Jenever discover it not long after they took Harimanna and Brendan as students but didn't bother telling Vermouth because they thought she already knew.**

**Guest:  
No! Don't let them join!**

**Skai:  
Unfortunately, if Leo didn't convince them to join he would have failed his mission and probably have been killed. The organization would have found another way to force the Miyano's to join.**


	21. Debut

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc III  
Chapter VIII  
Debut  
Warnings: Character Death**

Leo's training became even more intense, especially after the school year ended. He didn't have to worry about hiding any injuries from sparring sessions. Once he completed his training, he moved to the organization's base to spar against other people and encountered the Miyano Family who he hadn't seen for months. Akemi, Atsushi, and a very visibly pregnant Elena were shocked to see him in such a place.

"Leo-kun, what are you doing here?" Atsushi asked. "The Karasuma Group didn't kidnap you, did they?"

"No," Leo shook his head but couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with any of them. "I…I work here," _'Even though this was bound to happen, I should've stopped them. But if I had prevented them from joining, I would've been killed. I…I don't think I'm ready to accept death yet,'_

"You need to leave immediately," Atsushi ordered. "These people are really shady just as the rumors said. It's better if you don't associate with these types of people,"

_'It's too late for me. I've been associating with them since I was twelve,' _Leo opened his mouth to speak. "If you follow the organization's orders, then everything will be fine," _'No…it won't be fine. But words of assurance are all that I can provide you. I…I doubt I can prevent your deaths. I _want _you all to live, but I know I'm in no position to be able to save you and your wife. I'll do my best to keep Akemi and Shiho safe in the future. If I'm able to intervene, I'll prevent Akemi's death,'_

"Follow the organization's orders and everything will be fine?" Atsushi then noted the various wounds that Leo had suffered. "Did they do this to you!? This is child abuse! I'll—"

"It's from a sparring session," Leo claimed. "I'm fine,"

"Atsushi bring Akemi back to our apartment," Elena said. "I want to talk to Leo-kun," Atsushi nodded and the two left. Elena led Leo into her lab. "Leo-kun, what has the organization been doing to you?"

_'I need to be careful of what I say,' _Leo thought."They haven't been doing anything bad,"

"Leo-kun, I can see the brand on your arm," Elena lifted the boy's sleeve. "This isn't a wound that could be accidental,"

"The organization didn't do this," He answered truthfully. "Some bad people, _very _bad people did this," He pulled the sleeve back down. "The organization saved me," His words were genuine. _'Even though this is a criminal organization that kills, blackmails, and commits terrible crimes, I still owe my life to them. I owe Brendan and Harimanna's survival to them. If Jenever hadn't rescued us, we'd either still be suffering in Mad Dog Arena or we'd be dead,'_

"Saved you from whom?" Elena asked.

"Mad Dog Arena," His voice was barely audible to her.

"Mad Dog Arena…" Elena stared at him with wide eyes. "Two years ago…I attended the funeral of my sister's son, one of my nephews whom I was unable to meet. I was told that he had been kidnapped by Mad Dog Arena two years ago when he was ten. They found the corpse of the boy's dog not long after the kidnapping,"

"So Sable really did die…" Leo's voice wavered and it was so soft that none of the bugs would be able to hear him. _'I never had time to mourn Sable. All that time in Mad Dog Arena, I was just trying to survive,' _

"Sable?" Elena parroted. "How do you know the dog's name?"

"A black German shepherd with blue eyes," Leo whispered. "Sable…Sable is—_was_…my dog…" He looked at her with teary eyes. "My name…" He leaned close to her ear. "My name is Akai Senichi. Mary is my mother," He knew it was very risky because he didn't know the locations of any cameras or bugs in the room nor did he know how much audio they could pick up, but he just _had _to tell Elena. He didn't want to keep this to himself, not when she was his _family_.

"Se—"

"Please," Leo begged. "Please don't tell her. Don't drag them into the organization's sights,"

"I won't," Elena brought her nephew into a hug. "Atsushi and I can tell that it was a mistake accepting the offer from the Karasuma Group. It looks like they forced you to join too,"

"I wasn't lying when I said they rescued me," Leo admitted. "They saved me and Brendan and Harimanna. Auntie, the life I have now is better than life in Mad Dog Arena. I know that doesn't make them good people but…"

"Senichi, I want you to promise me," Elena said. "If anything happens to me and Atsushi…protect Akemi and Shiho,"

"I will," Leo agreed. _'I will not let Akemi die. I'll protect Brendan, Harimanna, Akemi, and Shiho. I swear on my life!'_

XXX

Leo participated in assassination and reconnaissance missions with Vermouth and other organization members. He was actually quite skilled in his job by then and was numb to all the deaths. Murder was not unfamiliar to him as he had been forced to kill in Mad Dog Arena. Whether it was men, women, elderly, or children, he killed without discrimination while wearing a neutral and uncaring expression. They were not anyone important to him so their lives did not matter.

At fifteen years old, he was transferred to the American branch and he and Vermouth moved to the United States. Vermouth continued her acting career while Leo started preparing for his debut. He suffered through dozens of vocal lessons by a multitude of vocal coaches. Since Leo Vineyard was Sharon Vineyard's son, he had to be skilled enough to uphold the family name.

When he wasn't practicing singing for his debut or training his skills for missions, Leo was spending his free time in the city. Although he still hated large crowds, he kept his poker face on. He would be interacting with crowds more in the future, especially when he gains a large fanbase. He paused once he saw his reflection in a store window.

_ 'I've changed a lot,' _Although his hair and eye color remained the same, that was a common combination. Even his voice was different from the child he used to be. He didn't really resemble the ten year old Akai Senichi that was kidnapped five years prior. _'I didn't change just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. Ten years ago, I hated killing and would have never thought that I'd be joining the organization. Now, I'm soon going to be given a codename,'_

_"Excuse me boy," _A voice called in English, though he had a Japanese accent. _"Are you alright?"_

Leo turned and came face to face with Kohji Haneda. "W-What?"

"Oh, you speak Japanese?" Kohji asked. "I'm wondering if you're alright. You stopped in the middle of the street for a while,"

"I-I'm fine," Leo smiled. _'Kohji…why is Kohji here? If I recall correctly, he doesn't come to the US except for chess tournaments—I'm fifteen years old. Akai Shuichi is fifteen years old. This is the tournament that the organization murders him! Please…please successfully fake your death, Kohji. Please tell me that you and Dad and your guys' contacts came up with a way to fool the organization!'_

"Are you sure?" Kohji inquired.

"Yes," Leo nodded. "I was just lost in thought," _'It's feels so painful to be near you. You're right next to me, yet you feel so distant. I'm just a stranger to you. You do not know me as Leo Field. You only know me as Akai Senichi,' _

"Have I seen you before?" Kohji questioned. "Your face seems familiar,"

_ 'How!?' _Leo mentally exclaimed. "Maybe you've seen me at a talent agency. I'm debuting as a singer soon,"

"No, I don't think it's a talent agency," Kohji narrowed his eyes.

"Then maybe I'm just a look alike," Leo shrugged. "Anyway, I should get going. I have a meeting," It was a lie but he had hoped he managed to keep his poker face long enough for Kohji to believe that lie.

XXX

It was that night that news of Haneda Kohji's death was shown to the world. Leo watched it on his TV in his hotel room. Silent tears fell. _'Please be alive…Please…survive. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you with the actual plans. Please…don't be dead…You can't be dead! I warned you of your impending doom years prior!'_

XXX

In England, the Akai Family received news of Kohji's death from Yasuharu and Ichiyo. "No…" Shuichi whispered. "No, you're lying! Kohji's not dead!"

"His corpse was found in his hotel room," Tsutomu told him solemnly. "It was perfectly identifiable. You can't deny his death, Shuichi,"

"First Sable and Senichi," Shukichi, now eleven years old, cried. "Now Kohji?"

"Yasuharu asked me to investigate Kohji's death," Tsutomu said. "I'm going to the US. I might be able to reveal the murderer and bring justice upon them,"

"Be careful, Tsutomu," Mary warned.

"I'll be fine," Tsutomu smiled.

Days later, Mary received an email from her husband.

_ Listen, think of me as someone who does not exist from now on. It looks like I made enemies with some really horrible people._

XXX

Leo Field debuted as a singer. The song he decided to sing at his first concert was The Pounding of My Heart which, in the Real World, was by THE HIGH-LOWS and was the very first opening of Detective Conan. The version he sang was the original English Dub. Although he sang with a smile on his face, it was a mask. His heart was heavy and full of tears.

**END OF ARC III**

* * *

**Did Kohji and Tsutomu succeed? Maybe yes, maybe not. Who knows?**

**Guest:  
Yes! Leo killed those kidnappers!**

**Skai:  
Yep, those kidnappers deserved to die.**


	22. Beach

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter I  
Beach  
Warnings: None**

He was a man of many names. In the Real World, he used to be Michael Leo Field, a seventeen year old weeaboo and otaku who died in a raging inferno. His second name was Senichi Akai, the younger twin brother of Shuichi Akai. In Crow Academy, he went by Senichi Field. While working under Vermouth, he was Leo Vineyard, the son of Sharon Vineyard and the elder brother to Chris Vineyard as well as a famous singer in the Unites States. In the organization, he was known by his codename: Absinthe.

He no longer held a neutral expression during missions but instead had a mad grin. He couldn't help but slightly enjoy the sight of the crimson staining the floors and walls crimson. The thuds of corpses falling to the floor were music to his ears. He had grown so used to killing that it was a bit enjoyable now.

Brendan and Harimanna Klein were now Jin Kurosawa and Aya Hayashi. They had all steeled their hearts and had become Gin and Curacao. All three of them were skilled operatives known throughout the organization. The mere mention of their codenames sent chills down the spines of many.

He protected Akemi and Shiho, though when the boss ordered the latter to be trained as a scientist for the organization, he couldn't go against those orders. Akemi hated how Leo had changed, but he still cared for him. Absinthe wasn't her friend but _Leo _was. He could've just left Akemi and Shiho alone, but he still stuck by their side.

XXX

Leo Vineyard, age twenty two, was currently in Japan. He was taking a break from singing and a vacation to Japan sounded nice. He wouldn't be as recognizable in Japan as he was in America so it was unlikely that he'd be hounded by fans. He hid his scars by wearing a long sleeved swim shirt and long swim pants. Any other scars that were still visible were skillfully hidden by waterproof makeup. He wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to further hide his identity while not standing out at the beach.

He decided to grab something to eat from a food stand. While pondering on what to order, he heard a young voice from beside him. "I'd like some fried potatoes please!" Seven year old Masumi placed some yen coins on the counter.

_'M-Masumi!?' _Leo immediately recognized the little girl as his—Akai's—younger sister.

"I'm sorry kid, but you're fifty yen short," The cashier said after counting the coins.

"Eh?" Masumi tried to look around the sand, thinking she had dropped a coin.

"I'll pay for it," Leo offered, placing some yen bills. "I'd also like some yakisoba please,"

"Thank you Oniisan!" Masumi grinned as she grabbed a handful of fries from the rectangular paper bowl and ran off to try to make Akai smile.

"Don't play with your food," Akai said, still unimpressed by her antics.

"Hey, what are you doing Masumi?" Mary scolded. She knelt down and wiped her daughter's face. "You're a girl. You shouldn't be getting salt from chips under your nose like this!"

"S-Sorry," Masumi apologized.

"Ah, is such a joke very popular in England?" Yukiko asked as she approached them. "You're from England, right? Potatoes cut into sticks, dabbed with slat, and friend in oil are called fried potato in Japan, French fries in America, and those who call them chips are from the country of fish and chips, England! So, I thought—ah, never mind that, have you seen my son? He's a little boy wearing green shorts and probably with a girl around his age,"

"Shinichi-kun was at some beach café," Leo spoke up as he walked over.

"Leo-kun, what are you doing here?" Yukiko inquired.

"Vacation," He shrugged. "If you're fast enough, you might be able to still catch him there," _'Though, I'm sure he's already left,'_

"Thank you," Yukiko then left to search for her son.

"Kid," Leo handed the bowl to Masumi. "You forgot the rest of your food at the counter,"

"Who are you?" Mary asked, giving the man a suspicious look.

He didn't immediately answer. _Senichi_ wanted to reveal who he truly was. He wanted to leave the organization and return home. He wanted to escape the shackles that bound him to darkness. But he couldn't. Senichi forced himself back into the depths of his mind and _Leo _responded. "My name is Leo Vineyard," _'Liar…Liar. Liar! LIAR!'_ "Your daughter was short fifty yen so I offered to pay,"

"Short fifty yen?" Shukichi turned to his sister. "I'm sure I gave you three hundred yen to buy fried potatoes,"

"Sorry," Masumi apologized. "I might've dropped a fifty yen coin in the sand,"

"It's fine," Leo smiled. "Fifty yen is practically nothing, but please be more careful. It might be a larger yen note next time,"

"Okay," Masumi agreed.

_'Leo Vineyard…I've seen him before and that name sounds so familiar,' _Akai watched as Leo walked away. "If you're careless and give away your identity through your speech, no country is safe for you, Kaa-san. But you don't have to worry because before the ones who killed Tou-san find us, I'll send them to the depths of Hell,"

"I know your true identity!" Seven year old Shinichi pointed accusingly at Akai. "This Oniisan is Pierrot!"

At the sound of those words, Leo whirled around and walked back over to them. "Shin-kun, your deduction is wrong. Oh, and your mom is looking for you,"

"No, he really is Pierrot!" Shinichi declared. "He's traveled to a lot of countries and as far as I know, such people are from the circus! The bruise on his left hand is from an accordion, which Pierrot plays in circus shows! And Oniisan's left eye has remains of Pierrot's crying makeup!"

Akai laughed. It was a loud laugh full of warmth. Senichi held back tears. It had been so long since he had seen his twin brother smile and heard his laughter. Thankfully Leo had years of training and his face didn't show his real emotions. If his mask broke, he would be a sobbing mess. He couldn't let that happen. If anyone recognized Leo Vineyard, then they might end up filming his breakdown and posting it on social media. The crows would find out and would link the Akai-Sera-Haneda Family to Absinthe, thus endangering them. They were already in enough danger as is.

"While it's true that I've visited three countries, I'm not part of a circus," Akai corrected the young detective. "Not everyone who travels is a circus troupe member. Good job noticing the accordion bruise though, but I played the accordion at a bar for my part-time job," He removed his sunglasses. "This is not crying makeup, by the way, it's a bruise my mother gave me when we fought. Who are you?"

"Kudo Shinichi!" The seven year old introduced. "I am Sherlock Holmes' apprentice!"

"Shinichi, there you are!" Ran called. "Your mommy was looking for you! Huh, are you still playing Holmes?"

"I'm not playing!" Shinichi claimed. "This is my training for when I become a famous detective!"

"But you'll be in danger if you overdo things like this!" Ran said worriedly. "Those guys looked really angry!"

"Brat, I've finally found you," Three men approached them. "You really made a fool of us back there, didn't ya?"

"You brought it upon yourselves," Shinichi pointed out. "You put a fly in the yakisoba you were almost done eating and made a scene just to get out of paying for it,"

"We'd have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you!"

Before he could roughly ruffle Shinichi's hair, Leo grabbed the man's wrist. "You must be quite the loser to be picking on little kids,"

"Why you…" The man threw a punch with his free arm.

Absinthe broke the man's wrist in a single, fluid motion. "Leave, or would you rather have me break the rest of your arm?"

"S-Sorry!" The men screamed as they scampered away.

Once they were gone, Leo headed to the sea without saying anything to the others. He dove underwater, allowing his tears to blend into the ocean. _'I'm such an idiot!_ _Why did I show my Absinthe side around them!? I should've just let it play out just like it did in canon! I never wanted my family to see that side of me, even if I'm only a stranger to them!'_

He resurfaced and took deep breaths of air. He glanced back at the shore where his family was. It was so _painful. _His heart ached so terribly and he just wanted it to stop. He dove back underwater and swam farther away from the shore, farther away from the family he could never return to. Once he was far enough, Senichi let out a scream of his frustration and sorrows. Nobody could hear him over the loud waves of the sea.

_'They seemed so happy…' _Senichi cried. _'They've moved on. They don't need Akai Senichi. They can live without me. I…I thought I already came to terms with this years ago, so why does it still hurt so much? This is just confirmation for my thoughts all those years back,'_

XXX

Leo managed to avoid the Akai Family for the rest of his vacation. He spent his time in Akihabara where he purchased many anime and manga products. Some of the items were only available in Japan and he wasn't going to let the chance slip up. He also bought some costumes of his favorite characters. Although he could easily make them back in the US or get one custom made, it felt more normal to just buy a premade one.

_'Ten years,' _Senichi thought. _'In ten years, the organization will fall. Actually, I don't know if time will be in a year loop like in the series since they celebrated the holidays multiple times, or if time will actually continue forward and everyone will age up. Either way, I've met the two Silver Bullets that will destroy the organization,'_

* * *

**I know it seems kinda confusing when I switch between names for the main character, but each name is a different aspect of him, kinda like how shrunken Shinichi is referred to as Conan. Senichi is his real face and misses his family. Leo is his public face that hides his pain and sorrows behind a mask. Absinthe is dangerous one that completes the missions he is assigned. **

**Guest:  
Please let Kohji and Tsutomu live.**

**Skai:  
Are they alive? Are they dead? Maybe yes, maybe no. **


	23. Dai

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter II  
Dai  
Warnings: None**

Leo was riding in Akemi's car the day she encountered Moroboshi Dai. They were driving to grab some food when the long haired man decided to jaywalk right in front of a moving vehicle. They brought him to the hospital and fortunately for him, Akemi wasn't going at a high speed so he wasn't seriously injured. Leo stayed by Akemi's side until the man woke up.

"You've regained consciousness!" Akemi let out a sigh of relief.

"Who are you?" Dai asked as if he didn't know. His tone sounded genuinely confused and if Leo didn't know Dai's true allegiance, he would have also been fooled.

"You don't remember?" Akemi questioned. "I hit you with my car. I'm so sorry. It was due to my carelessness,"

"No, I wasn't paying attention either," Dai claimed.

"I'll go call the doctor," Akemi stood up to leave.

"Your, your name?" Dai requested as she reached for the door handle.

"Miyano Akemi," She bowed. "That man over there is my friend, Leo Vineyard,"

"I'm Moroboshi Dai," He introduced himself. "Nice to meet you,"

After Akemi left, Leo chuckled. "Seriously, Nalabaga? Jaywalking? You're lucky you didn't get off with any serious wounds,"

Dai's eyes widened once he recognized Leo. "You're—"

"Leo Vineyard, thee awesome American singer," Leo introduced. _'If I pretend that I don't recognize him, he won't be so worried about me revealing his family,' _"Also, 'nice to meet you'? Wow, you must love getting hit by cars if that's your definition of a nice meeting!"

_'He doesn't seem to recognize me but since he is Vermouth's son, he is definitely an organization member and just pretending not to know me. Vermouth is a skilled actress and must have taught her skills to her son. Then again, our meeting from five years ago was very brief so there is a chance that he did indeed forget who I am,' _Dai thought. "Why did you call me Nalabaga?"

"We needed a placeholder for your name and I suggested Nalabaga because why the fuck not?" Leo shrugged. _'Nalabaga is Ilocano for red. Akai is Japanese for red. It suits him,' _"Would you rather have me look through your wallet to find your ID?" His stomach grumbled. "You just _had _to get hit by a car on our way _to _the restaurant instead of one the way _back_,"

"You two are dating?" Dai inquired. _'They were going to a restaurant together. The file said that Miyano Akemi was single. Did she suddenly get a boyfriend?'_

Leo gave him an annoyed look. "She is just a friend! A man and a woman could just be friends ya know!" _'Since we grew up together, we consider each other to be siblings! Though, we are actually cousins,' _"I'm taking a break from my singing career to spend time with my friends. Also, my fans can be rather…suffocating? No, that sounds too harsh. Maybe overenthusiastic? Yeah, that sounds like a much nicer term,"

"I thought celebrities love fame," Dai commented.

"You're wrong again, Nalabaga," Leo rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go buy some pizza. You want anything?" _'I don't know if he has any allergies and I'd rather not have him die from an allergic reaction. That's a terrible way to go, especially since this is Akai Shuichi we are talking about. You'd think he'd die from a bullet instead,'_

"No pineapples," Dai immediately said, shivering at a memory of trying Hawaiian pizza for the first time.

"I hate pineapples in general so you don't have to worry about that dreaded fruit appearing on pizza around me," Leo smiled. "I'm ordering a large supreme pizza. Tell Akemi when she comes back,"

Once he was outside of the hospital, he allowed himself to slump against the side of Akemi's car. _'I need to keep my Leo mask steady around him,' _Senichi thought. _'I'll be seeing him more often in the organization when he becomes a member. I might even have to work with him at some point. Right now, I doubt Akai knows my codename. Absinthe is a high ranking member just like Gin and Curacao and I always change my appearance when I conduct missions. Absinthe is known to have black hair and blood red eyes, though people are unable to get a close enough look before their deaths. If they inspected my appearance closely, they'd have known that my hair was dyed black and that I was wearing red contacts,'_

XXX

Gin and Curacao were at Absinthe's place. No, they weren't Gin, Curacao, and Absinthe at the moment, nor were they Jin, Aya, and Leo. They were Brendan, Harimanna, and Senichi. "It's been a while since we all got together," Senichi poured three glasses of bourbon whiskey and set the bottle on the coffee table. "Since you guys are twenty one now, you can drink legally,"

"Since when has age stopped us from drinking," Brendan smirked as he took a sip from his cup. "We've done worse illegal things. Underage drinking had been the least of our worries,"

Harimanna stared at the two men. "The drinking age in Japan is twenty. Twenty one is the drinking age in the US,"

"EH!?"

"I understand Sen getting confused since he's lived in the US for the past few years," Harimanna gave her twin brother an unimpressed look. "But you, Brendan, has lived in Japan for many years now,"

"You can't expect me to memorize every single law in each country," Brendan mumbled as he downed the rest of his glass.

"Your memory sucks," Senichi laughed. _'These are the times I've missed. I don't have to be Absinthe. I don't have to be Leo Vineyard. I can just be Senichi Akai with Brendan Klein and Harimanna Klein,'_

"So," Harimanna began. "I heard that Akemi got a boyfriend,"

"Tch, don't remind me," Senichi clicked his tongue. "They've only known each other for two months and they're already dating,"

"There _are _online dating apps where people who have known each other for an even shorter while begin dating," Harimanna reminded. "What's his name anyway?"

"Moroboshi Dai," Senichi mumbled. "I call him Nalabaga though. It means red which is the color of his blood on the ground if he ever hurts Akemi,"

"Hey watch it," Brendan chuckled. "Your Absinthe side is showing. You said you like to keep your work life and personal life separate,"

"I'm surprised you haven't murdered him yet," Harimanna added. "You're very protective of Akemi and Shiho,"

"Akemi is twenty years old," Senichi sighed. "I…I'm going to trust her judgement. If Nalabaga turns out to be abusive, Akemi can come to me and we'll torture the living shit out of him!"

"Kanpai to that," Harimanna raised her glass.

_'I won't _kill _him when it's revealed that he's a spy,' _Senichi thought. _'But when I see him again, I will punch him in the face,' _

XXX

Moroboshi Dai joined the organization six months after meeting Akemi. Leo was enraged when Akemi came crying to him one night. "I didn't want him to get involved in the organization," She cried. "I wanted us to have a normal relationship,"

"Want me to break Nalabaga's arm?" Leo offered, allowing the Absinthe aspect of his personality to seep in. "Or perhaps his legs first so he can't run away?" _'Brother or not, he made her cry! I promised Aunt Elena that I'd protect Akemi and Shiho!'_

"No!" Akemi immediately refused. "No…don't hurt him. It's not his fault. The organization might've killed him if he hadn't. You know how they hate it when an outsider gets close to me. They allowed me to have friends but Dai-kun would be around me more and there's a chance he might come across something related to the organization in my apartment,"

"Fine," Leo reluctantly agreed. _'The organization didn't force him to join though. He joined of his own free will to get information on the organization and send it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation,'_

* * *

**haruna06:  
I love Jenever already :3**

**Skai:  
I'm glad you liked my OC.**


	24. Whiskey

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter III  
Whiskey  
Warnings: Minor Character Death, Mourning**

Six months after becoming a member, Dai had proven himself and rose to the rank of a codenamed agent, earning the codename Rye. Absinthe was assigned to lead a mission with a team consisting of the operatives Rye, Bourbon, and Scotch. "Before we leave, I'm going to say this only once," He mentally groaned as they piled into his black Ford Mustang. "Nalabaga, Awan, Banuar, you all better get along well enough to complete the mission. I don't give a fuck if you guys hate each other's guts, but don't let any personal shit get in the way of the mission,"

As he had done with Dai, Leo had pretended not to recognize Amuro Tooru or Tatsuya Daisuke. He had given Amuro, codenamed Bourbon, the nickname Awan which meant zero in Ilocano. For Tatsuya, codenamed Scotch, he had given him the nickname Banuar which meant hero in Ilocano, deriving the nickname from the first half of the PSB officer's real name, **Hiro**mitsu. Leo wasn't sure if he was grateful that none of those three knew Ilocano or slightly offended that they never bothered to learn the language or that they hadn't encountered anyone that knew at least _some _Ilocano.

"This is our first time meeting," Scotch claimed. "We don't hold any grudges against each other,"

"Yeah, yeah, it's just advice for future missions," Absinthe mumbled. _'Oh right, Scotch is still alive so Bourbon doesn't hate Rye yet,'_

"So what's the mission?" Bourbon asked.

"We are going to kill a company president, steal certain files, and wipe the computer clean of any data using the virus here," He held up a thin black USB stick as he pulled out of the organization parking lot. "It doesn't matter if his death is ruled as a murder or suicide since that guy has a lot of enemies. We could pin the death on someone else and the cops would never suspect the organization," He glanced into the rearview mirror that reflected the three men in the backseat. "Unless you guys are rats?"

"We aren't rats," Rye lied.

"Neither am I," Bourbon denied.

"Nor I," Scotch added.

_ 'They're really good actors,' _Absinthe thought. _'No wonder they were chosen by their respective intelligence agencies to infiltrate the organization,'_ "Good. Then none of you will have any problems completing this mission. Failure means death,"

XXX

Breaking in while avoiding the security cameras at the entry point were easy. They disabled any security cameras that they would've recorded them on the way to the company president's office. It was after hours so there weren't many people left in the building save for the target himself and a few security guards and custodians that were easily avoidable. The secretary had also been present but she was easily silenced.

Absinthe knocked on the door and mimicked the secretary's sweet tone. "President-san, you have some visitors,"

"This late?" The company president grumbled. "Fine, send them in,"

_'Tch, the bastard is way too overconfident that nobody would go after him,' _Absinthe opened the door and allowed everyone to enter before shutting the door.

"Huh? Who the hell are you guys?" The company president was a short, balding man with an unkempt suit. He smoked a cigar despite being indoors and spoke in an annoyed tone. "What do you want?"

Absinthe stood at the doorway as lookout. He kept his eyes opened and enhanced his sense of smell to catch the scent of anyone nearing their location. The smell of blood and gunpowder didn't bother him as much as when he had used his ability to track down Akemi all those years ago. He could also hold his ability for a longer period of time before suffering the drawbacks.

He glanced back at the others from time to time, ensuring that they were swift and efficient with their tasks. Rye had killed the company president while sporting a neutral expression. As Bourbon worked on deleting the data on the old man's laptop, Scotch and Rye both searched for the files the boss had wanted them to retrieve. It took them less than an hour to complete the mission.

XXX

Absinthe's hands shook when he opened the file that Vermouth had given him for his next mission. Thankfully he was in the privacy of his own office at the moment and Vermouth had left minutes ago to attend other business. _'You've got to be fucking kidding me…'_

His next mission would be taking place in England and his teammates were once again Rye, Bourbon, and Scotch. Over the last couple years after its initial destruction, Mad Dog Arena had been rebuilt. Apparently the scientist had somehow survived and escaped. Normally the organization couldn't care less about Mad Dog Arena, but one of the children of an organization operative of the British branch had been taken. Absinthe and his team were to go in and rescue the child if possible. Kill the people responsible. Such acts against the organization would not go unpunished.

Although Absinthe was filled with fear of returning to the place that had caused his life to spiral downhill, something deep inside him was blooming. It was the desire for vengeance, the need for the scientists' blood to be shed. His expression of terror turned into a manic grin. _'Just you wait you bastard! I'll make you pay!'_

XXX

Once they landed in England, they drove to their hotel. They were going to stay in the same hotel suite that had a row of four beds. "Tomorrow night we'll strike," Absinthe informed. "It's already late at night so I recommend getting some sleep for obvious reasons. If any of you fall asleep on the job, don't expect your teammates to drag you around. You'll be left behind if you weigh us down. The success of the mission is more important than your lives,"

They stayed up for a few more hours and once he was sure that everyone was asleep, Absinthe got out of bed and headed out. He stopped by a small art store to pick up a custom order. He had requested for a small dog figure to be carved from stone. He paid for the statuette and then left the store. His next stop was the graveyard.

At the pet cemetery, he walked around until he came across the tombstone labeled SABLE AKAI. He knelt down and quickly dusted the dirt and grass that had gathered on it. Although his hair was dyed black and he wore his red contact lens, he wasn't Absinthe at the moment. Kneeling in front of Sable's grave and setting a carving of a German shepherd beside the photo was Senichi Akai.

"Hey Sable," His voice was unsteady and he didn't bother to fix it. "I'm sorry I hadn't been able to visit you. I…I'm still alive, boy," Tears started to fall. "I found out I had a mission here in England and realized that it was close to where we used to live. I…I had a feeling you would be buried in the cemetery closest to home. I had this figurine of you made because…I miss you. Not just you…I miss you and Mama and Papa and Shuichi and Shukichi and…I know that I have a little sister now. I'm sure you would've loved her and she would've loved you. Her name is Masumi,"

Senichi's eyes widened at the sound of approaching footsteps. _'Did Akai follow me here!? No! I can't have him finding out about my identity! I can't—'_

"Senichi?"

* * *

**Yes, I ended it there. Who do you think is at the graveyard with Senichi?**

**Cloverhead123:  
So far I think this story is pretty good. Realism in terms of human emotion. Decent writing short and sweet.****  
**

**Skai:  
Thanks. I usually write crack-fics but decided to try to write something with deeper emotions.**


	25. Tsutomu

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter IV  
Tsutomu  
Warnings: Mentions of Stuff from Arc II**

"Sen-chan?"

_'That voice…it sounds so, oh so familiar,' _Senichi closed his eyes. _'The one who calls me by that nickname…' _He stood up and wiped his eyes.

"You _are_ Sen-chan, aren't you?"

Senichi didn't turn to face his father. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jerked away and sprinted in the opposite direction. _'It's all a lie! It's not real! I'm just hallucinating!' _

"Senichi wait!" As he entered an alley, Tsutomu grabbed his son's arm. "Please…don't run away from me, Akai Soren Senichi,"

_'His touch…it's real. I'm not dreaming,' _Senichi finally turned around. "Hi Papa," His voice was even more broken than when he was crying at Sable's grave.

Tsutomu had aged as the years passed by. His face looked so tired and weary yet his blue eyes held happiness from reuniting with his long lost child. "Senichi…you're alive…"

They heard the sound of two things clattering to the ground. Standing behind Tsutomu at the entrance of the alley was none other than Akai Shuichi, his box of freshly bought cigarettes and a lighter at his feet. His eyes were wide and his jaw had dropped, having eavesdropped their conversation and saw Tsutomu's face. "Dad? Senichi?"

Senichi looked to him. "Hi Shuichi,"

XXX

They had gone to Tsutomu's apartment which was a few blocks away from the hotel so they'd be able to return to their suite quickly. "Do you guys want water, tea, or alcohol?"

"Got any bourbon or scotch?" Senichi asked. "I'm gonna need it,"

Tsutomu took out a bottle of Baker's Mark bourbon whiskey and three glasses, pouring even amounts into each. "So…"

"Both of you died," Akai spoke up. "How…how are you alive? Am I dreaming? Am I high? Am I hallucinating? Am I dead?"

"You better not be high or dead," Tsutomu chastised. "But no, you're wide awake Shuu-chan. I'm still alive and…" He paused for a moment and blinked away tears that were forming. "And Senichi…he's here with us. He's really here…"

"How!?" Akai asked, finally allowing his calm composure to disappear. "How are you both alive? Dad, you disappeared off the face of Earth thirteen years ago! Senichi, we held your funeral after Mad Dog Arena was destroyed!"

_'Even Akai cries,' _Senichi thought. _'He is still human. Even though in the anime and manga, he is always calm and composed, he still has weaknesses and breaking points. He still feels sadness and sorrow. He still has emotions,' _

"We anticipated Kohji's death so with the help of my connections, we faked it," Tsutomu informed. "Since I found out about the organization's existence, I also needed to fake my death,"

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Akai demanded.

"To fool the enemy, one must fool their friends and family," Tsutomu said quietly.

"And you!" Akai turned to his twin brother. "If you were alive…why didn't you come home after Mad Dog Arena was destroyed!?"

"Why the fuck are you pissed off at me!?" Senichi grew angry at the tone Akai was using. "Did you think that I didn't _want _to go home!? Of course I wanted to go home! I had been crying for help for the two years I suffered in that hellhole! You have no fucking idea what I've been through!" He took off his jacket and shirt, revealing the various scars across his body. "Nearly all of these scars are from Mad Dog Arena, not from the organization!" He pointed at his shoulder where the brand still stayed. "I was branded like I was some cattle and not a human! I was forced to kill other children! I had to kill my own friend! I was poked and prodded with needles and experimented on!"

"Experimented on?" Tsutomu whispered.

"Look at me! I'm a monster! I'm a freak! I'm an abomination!" Senichi activated his polar bear traits. His mouth became wider and filled with sharp teeth. His entire muscle mass increased. He kicked off his shoes as his hands and feet became larger, clawed, and covered in white fur. He grabbed Akai by his throat and brought him close to his face. "Nobody wants a monster in their family!" He dropped Akai and returned to his full human form.

"You're not a monster, nor are you a freak or an abomination," Akai pulled him into a hug. "You're my _brother_,"

"Each and every night there, I begged for you guys to find and save me," Senichi leaned into Akai's arms, resting his head on his twin brother's shoulder. "Each and every night, that plea was never answered. When Brendan, Harimanna, and I were finally rescued…it wasn't family, nor was it friends, nor was it any law enforcement at all. It was Jenever, a member of the organization. He singlehandedly destroyed Mad Dog Arena and saved us. Do you know how that feels? My own family failed to save me and instead a criminal organization did,"

"I'm so sorry," Tsutomu hugged both of his sons. "I should've tried harder,"

"It was either join the organization or die," Senichi sobbed. "I didn't want to die. I _couldn't _die yet. I made a promise to Ahren to protect Brendan and Harimanna. As we grew older, our hearts started to become corrupted. I became Absinthe while those two became Gin and Curacao. I _want _to leave the organization and be Senichi Akai once again, but I can't. I can't leave Bren and Manna behind. And besides, I'm already a high ranking member. I want to destroy the organization from the inside,"

"I'm kinda glad that I'm part of the organization," His lips curled into a bloodthirsty grin and Absinthe took control. "I can personally exact revenge on those bastards at Mad Dog Arena! I'll make them pay! I'll make them regret ever being born! They caused so much pain and so much grief! They tore me away from my family! They killed Sable! They killed Ahren!"

"Senichi…I don't want Absinthe here right now…" Akai requested softly. "Please…even if it's for a couple more minutes…be Senichi, be my younger twin brother…"

XXX

"You understand that you can't tell the rest of our family, right?" Senichi asked Akai. "They need to believe that Papa, Kohji, and I are dead or else they'll go looking for us which could potential put them in danger,"

"Yeah," Akai nodded. "I think we should head back to the hotel before Bourbon and Scotch get suspicious,"

"You go on ahead," Senichi said. "If anything, tell them I went to a strip club. I want to talk with Papa for a bit,"

Akai stared at his brother. "A…strip club?"

"I've only been to one once because Vermouth wanted to see my reaction," Senichi mumbled. "I don't like strip clubs. They do serve pretty decent booze though,"

Akai hugged both his father and brother once again before reluctantly leaving. Tsutomu poured another glass of whiskey for his son. "So…"

"I'm glad you're alive," Senichi said. "I'm glad that both you and Kohji managed to fake your deaths, even without me being there,"

"I'm glad that you're alive and healthy too, Sen-chan," Tsutomu responded.

"Even though I joined the organization, most things are still going according to the canon timeline," Senichi took a sip of his fresh glass of alcohol. "I…I wanted to save Aunt Elena and Uncle Atsushi but…but I couldn't. I was in the US and they were in Japan,"

"You can't save everyone," Tsutomu told him sadly. "Death is inevitable for us all, but we won't be able to control when we die,"

"I know," Senichi nodded. "I know but it's still so painful," There was a moment of silence between them. "Do you know what name I go by in public?"

"What?"

"Leo Vineyard," Senichi informed. "I…I'm the son of Sharon Vineyard and the older brother of Chris Vineyard. I…you can watch my performances either live or online,"

"I will," Tsutomu smiled. "Even if it's through a screen, I'll be happy to watch you knowing that my son is well,"

* * *

**Guest:  
I think it's Akai who tailed him after Senichi left the hotel.**

**Skai:  
I mean, you were partially right. It **_**is **_**Akai, just not Akai Shuichi. It was Akai Tsutomu. **


	26. Feral

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter V  
Feral  
Warnings: Minor Character Deaths, Torture, Mentions of Human Experimentation**

"Where did you go?" Bourbon asked once Rye returned. "And where's Absinthe?"

"I needed a smoke but was out of cigarettes," Rye grunted. "I saw Absinthe heading into a strip club,"

"A strip club?" Bourbon questioned. "That's unlike him,"

Rye shrugged. "Don't ask me. Ask Absinthe," He slid off his shoes and climbed back into bed, making sure he was facing away from both Scotch and Bourbon. He was emotionally drained but tonight, he could sleep knowing that his father, cousin, and most of all his brother were all still alive. But even though Kohji and Tsutomu's deaths were his main reasons for hunting down the organization, he still won't give up on that goal. Now, he had to destroy the organization to free Senichi.

_ 'Those scars…' _Akai thought back to the old injuries that adorned his younger twin brother's torso and back. _'He suffered so much already. He sounded so broken. I yelled at him because he didn't come home right after Mad Dog Arena's destruction, but I should've known it wasn't his fault. He was only a child, a scared and hurt child. That anger wasn't directed meant to be directed at him. It was meant to be directed to myself. I'm his older brother. It was my job to protect him. Just like when Lo hurt him, I failed Senichi!'_

_ 'Six years ago…six years ago, we met Senichi briefly at the beach. He was so close to us, we even spoke. He wasn't even using hair dye or wearing any contacts at that time. But…but we were still unable to recognize him. It must've hurt him to know that his own family didn't recognize him. It must've been painful for him to meet his sister for the first time but only have her see him as a stranger,'_

XXX

Absinthe had already returned by the time they woke up. He surprisingly has no red puffy eyes from crying last night nor did he seem tired at all. It seemed that he managed to get at least a few hours of sleep. He was currently going over the files for the mission. "We're leaving at sundown to scout the area around it in while still having coverage,"

"What will we be doing until then?" Scotch asked.

"I don't care what you guys do," Absinthe responded. "Just make sure you're prepared for the mission," He left to take a stroll through England and reminisced about his past. He stopped by in front of his childhood home and stared at it for a moment.

_"Excuse me sir," _A man with messy black hair and pale grey eyes exited the house and walked over to him. _"Is there something I can help you with?"_

_"Sorry, I was just admiring your home," _Absinthe apologized. _"Judging from the exterior, it is well taken care of,"_

_ "It's my best friend's house," _The man spoke in English with a slight Italian accent. _"I'm just waiting for him to return,"_

_ "I see," _Absinthe nodded.

_"Several unlucky things happened to the family that used to live here," _The man continued. _"First their son was kidnapped, then a cousin was killed, and now the father of the family disappeared,"_

_ "Is it alright to be telling these things to a stranger?" _Absinthe inquired. _"It seems like private information,"_

_ "The whole town knows so it's not really private info," _The man shrugged. _"My name's Alistair Rei. You?"_

_'Alistair…' _He couldn't answer immediately and took a few seconds to compose himself. _"Sen Field," 'You took care of this house even after my family moved away. You didn't have to, but you've decided to wait for me,'_

_ "I need to get to work," _Alistair glanced at his watch. _"I'm sure you have your reasons for not returning yet, so come home whenever you're ready. Oh, and if you're going to lie about your name you shouldn't use your nickname,"_ He then got into his car and drove off.

XXX

The sun had set and the crows flew out. Absinthe would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't nervous at all, but he couldn't afford to show any weakness. The facility was smaller than the original Mad Dog Arena, but it was still a lot of area to cover. They split into pairs with Scotch and Bourbon heading to the west while Rye and Absinthe headed to the east.

"Are you going to be okay?" Akai asked.

Absinthe paused and glared at him. "Right now I am not Akai Senichi so don't treat me like him. I am Absinthe. I am a murderer. I am a crow. You are Rye. We are on a mission to rescue the brat and destroy this place. I do not need your pity. I've survived this long without it,"

"Right," Rye nodded, regaining his neutral expression. He glanced at the photo of the girl they were looking for. _'She's really young. Hopefully we can save her before horrible things are done to her,'_

They came across rows of children stuffed in cells as if they were cattle. All of them were so thin with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. Many of them didn't have the strength to glance up at the passing man or their didn't care. The two crows scanned each of the faces but none of them were the person they were looking for.

Akai wanted to save these kids from the same fate that befell Senichi, but he knew he couldn't. The mission took priority. The desire was easy to force down. He had been forced to kill children while in the organization. The criminal syndicate did not discriminate by age. If you got in their way or if your death benefited the organization, you would be killed.

_"Hey!"_ Guards pointed their guns at the two. _"Who are you!?"_

_"We're customers,"_ Absinthe lied easily. _"We were just looking at the stock. Most of them look like they'll kick the bucket soon. Are these fights even worth the money?"_

_"Watchers aren't supposed to be in this part of Mad Dog Arena," _

_"Hey, I just wanted to make sure we got our money's worth," _Absinthe walked over to the three and killed two of them by slashing their throats with knives. _"We're looking for a specific kid. Where is she?"_ He held up the photo.

_"T-That k-kid-d?"_ The guard stuttered. _"She was b-brought to the scientist just now!"_

_"So she's dead,"_ Absinthe broke the man's neck. He sent out a text to Bourbon. "The girl is dead. We are destroying this place,"

XXX

The children were given swift deaths so they didn't have to suffer as the building was set ablaze. Any and every guard that was seen was murdered. Absinthe came across the scientist in his lab who was desperately trying to save his files. _"Why is this happening again!?"_ The scientist cursed. _"I barely escaped last time! I-I can survive again and continue my research! I'll just find new lab rats!"_

Absinthe activated his polar bear traits, allowing his teeth and nails to become sharper as well as his muscle mass in his arms, his strength, and his speed to increase. He was not going to let the scientist get away. Without any warning, he lunged forward and slammed the scientist against the farthest wall, ensuring that the strength he was using wouldn't immediately kill him.

_"W-Who the hell are you!?"_ The scientist stuttered. _"Y-You want money?"_

Absinthe bared his fangs at him. _"You did this to me!"_

_ "I've never see you before!"_ The scientist attempted to take out his gun and aim but Absinthe was faster and broke his arm. _"T-Those are traits of a polar bear!"_ He took a step back. _"You're J4!"_

_"You tore me and my friends away from our family!" _Absinthe roared, throwing the scientist across the room._ "You forced us to kill other kids!" _

_"I-I-I—"_

_"You used us for your own entertainment!"_ Absinthe pinned the scientist down to the floor and slowly started to tear the evil man's arm off.

_"AHHH!"_

Absinthe tossed the severed limb aside. _"You think that's painful? That's nothing compared to the suffering you caused us!"_ He grabbed the scientist's remaining arm and started to peel each nail at a time before slowly breaking each finger.

_"P-Please…"_ The scientist started to cry.

_"Why should I stop!? Why should I let you live!?"_ Absinthe delivered a series of claw marks along the man's body. _"You didn't listen to our pleas for mercy!"_

_"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"_ The scientist sobbed pitifully.

_"And worst of all,"_ Absinthe stabbed a clawed finger into one of the man's eye. _"You killed Ahren!_" He stabbed his finger into the man's other eye.

_"MY EYES! I CAN'T SEE! IT HURTS!"_

He started to tear some teeth out but stopped after half of them laid scattered across the bloodied floor. "As much as I want to continue torturing you even more, I have to destroy the rest of this place," Absinthe broke both of the scientists' legs. "You won't be able to escape this time. Suffer like all the children you experimented on and forced to fight," He allowed himself to return to normal.

He noticed a whimpering figure in the corner of the lab. It was the girl in the photo, but as he had mentioned before, it was already too late. She was still alive but would be dead within in the next few minutes. She had various cuts and gashes and whip marks as well as several injection sites. It looked like she was in the middle of being experimented on when the crows had struck.

_"P-P-Please…"_ Her voice was barely a whisper. _"H-Help…"_

_"I can't save you,"_ Absinthe knelt down. _"Even if I brought you out of here, you only have a few minutes left,"_

_"I want…to see…the stars…"_ If it hadn't been for his enhanced hearing, Absinthe wouldn't have been able to hear her.

_'She most likely won't survive until we get out,' _Absinthe gave her a pitiful look. Nonetheless, he carefully scooped her into his arms and made his way to the exit, avoiding the blaze that was destroying the building in an identical fashion to the one from sixteen years ago. The rest of his team was already gathered outside.

_"The stars…"_ The girl whispered. _"So many…"_

_"Yeah," _Absinthe allowed her to spend her last few minutes staring at the night sky. Once she became limp in his arms, he walked over to the car. "We can at least bring back her corpse for her parents,"

* * *

**Senichi got his revenge.**


	27. Scotch

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter VI  
Scotch  
Warnings: None**

Senichi was at a bar during one of his day offs. Today was the anniversary of Sable's death and he wanted to drown himself in alcohol to make the pain go away, even if it was just for one night. He had thrown on the bare minimum of a disguise to avoid being immediately recognized in public. He was already a bit drunk.

"Hey there pretty lady, what are you doing here all by yourself?"

Senichi glanced to a few seats away from him to see a woman who had been approached by a man. "Screw off!" She snapped angrily at the man hitting on her. She seemed to also be slightly drunk.

"Ooh, feisty," The man grinned.

Senichi chugged down his glass of alcohol and threw the cup at the man. "Bugger off. She obviously doesn't want you,"

"Get out of my bar," The bartender said to the man. "I won't tolerate you harassing this woman or anybody else,"

The man let out a slur of expletives before storming out while giving Senichi a death glare. Senichi promptly flipped him off before turning his attention to the woman. "You alright?"

"Yeah," She mumbled. "I could've handled him," She was a few years younger than him and had short, blonde hair, blue eyes, and glasses. She also looked like a foreigner, most likely an American.

"I know, but that guy was being too noisy so I wanted him out of here," Senichi thanked the bartender as he received another glass of bourbon whiskey. "Life sucks,"

"Yep," The woman nodded. "My boyfriend recently dumped me for another woman. You?"

"Today's the anniversary of my dog's death," He replied. "He was murdered,"

"That's terrible," The woman frowned.

"Mmhm," Senichi nodded.

The two met up several nights after their initial meeting. Senichi spoke about Sable when he was alive. The woman shared bits and pieces of her own life. They helped each other heal, yet they never exchanged names. Why didn't they exchange names? It was simply because they kept forgetting to ask each other. And they tended to drink a lot during their meetings. Due to getting drunk during all their meetings, Senichi only recalled the woman's face as a blur.

XXX

Scotch's cover had been blown. Rye had confronted him on the rooftop of a building and they engaged in a struggle. It seemed like Rye had the upper hand but Scotch managed to grab the man's gun. Rye held his hands up in a surrendering fashion. "Pretending to be beaten by me and taken the chance to steal my gun…I won't be begging you for my life but before you shoot, would you listen to what I have to say?"

"You're wrong. I didn't steal your gun to shoot you," He pointed the gun at his own chest. "I stole it to do this!"

Akai grabbed the cylinder in time. "If a gun's cylinder is tightly held, the trigger cannot be pulled,"

"Morofushi Hiromitsu,"

Hiro's eyes widened and his blood ran cold. _'They know my real name! They'll find Taka'aki-niisan's connection to me and kill him too! They'll also go after all my friends!"_

"You better not kill yourself because it took me a while to prepare a corpse to take your spot," Absinthe dragged a corpse as he walked over to them. "Do you know how hard it was for me to manipulate the time of death? I literally had to also warm up this body to a normal human temperature before dragging it up here!"

"What?" Hiro didn't know how to react. He didn't fully understand what was going on either.

Absinthe tossed the corpse and leaned it against the wall. To Hiro's horror, it looked _exactly _like him. Absinthe then grabbed Hiro and stole his phone, tucking it into the jacket pocket of the corpse. He then pulled Hiro out of sight as Bourbon's approaching footsteps were heard. As the bullet pierced the phone and the already dead body, blood packs and detonators caused a large blood splatter. Bourbon stared in horror at the bloody Rye and dead "Hiro." "Traitors should be punished accordingly, right?" Rye asked calmly.

While they stayed out of sight, Absinthe started applying a quick disguise to Hiro who was silent, shocked, and confused. Since his life had been spared, he knew that Absinthe and Rye weren't loyal organization members. "We'll talk later after Bourbon leaves. Do not fuck this up or I will personally kill you myself," Absinthe threatened.

XXX

"Who are you guys?" Hiro asked.

"FBI Agent Akai Shuichi," Akai introduced.

"Akai Senichi," Senichi added. _'I don't have any cool job or title to add to it,'_

"How can the two of you be related?" Hiro inquired. "Absinthe, I heard that you were part of the organization since you were a child,"

"It's a long story and frankly, none of your business," Senichi responded. "Here's an envelope of all the stuff you'll need to live a new life. Do _not _get caught, Hamura Sai!"

"Hamura Sai?"

"That's your new name so get used to it," Senichi said. "You'll also be moving to the US. No complaining. No grabbing your stuff from your apartment. No telling Furuya. Just get to the damn airport without any of the other crows killing or capturing you,"

"Why are you helping me?" Sai questioned. "Why go through all this hassle just to save my life? Wouldn't it have been simpler letting me die?"

"I'd rather save as many lives that I can than let everyone perish," Senichi answered, recalling the memories of the time he spent with Elena and Atsushi. "Especially since you're a valuable ally that can help us in the future,"

"Bourbon is an NPA officer," Sai said. "Why can't he know about this?"

"Listen here Morofushi," Absinthe grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him closer so he was glaring right into his eyes. "Your life isn't the only one at stake. If you are discovered alive, you will be killed. Rye will be killed. I will be killed. And it won't stop at just us. Our family and friends will also be killed. I will _not _risk Furuya Rei potentially fucking this entire plan up by slipping up in his act!"

"Zero won't—"

"I can kill you right here and now!" Absinthe growled. "Or you can live a quiet life as Hamura Sai until we call upon you. Which will it be?"

XXX

Bourbon hated Rye with a burning passion. Honestly, there were times that Rye thought the blonde would burn a hole through his head with just his glare. Rye didn't let it get to him. He knew that Bourbon's hatred stemmed from the fact that he had been the one to kill Scotch. It wasn't like the man knew the truth that Scotch was still alive.

Many months passed. "Did you know that Gin is dating Sherry?" Rye asked Absinthe when he encountered the latter in the hallway.

"What!?" Absinthe stared at him as if he had grown another head.

"I saw them kissing on my way out of the lab yesterday," Rye informed. "You didn't know?"

"What the hell!?" Absinthe stormed over to Gin's apartment and kicked the door open.

Gin was laying on the couch with his shirt unbuttoned while Sherry was on top of him, still fully clothed. "It's a common courtesy to knock first,"

"Brendan Klein, you have a lot of explaining to do!" Senichi slammed the door shut. "What the hell are you doing to Shiho!?"

"We _were _making out," Shiho answered for her boyfriend.

"Shiho, you're sixteen!" He then turned to the silver haired man. "Brendan, you're twenty four! Shiho is eight years younger than you!"

"Age is only a number," Brendan replied.

"And a prison cell is only a room," Senichi scoffed. "Shiho is a minor!"

"You're acting like that this is the worst thing I've done," Brendan pointed out. "I've killed and tortured people before,"

"This is _Shiho_!" Senichi snapped. "She isn't just some random girl! She's my friend! Akemi's sister! Elena and Atsushi's daughter!"

"I'm also one of the youngest codenamed agents," Shiho responded calmly. "If I am capable of writing research papers and reports on topics that many people decades older than me are unable to do, then I am fully capable of choosing my own boyfriend. Besides, Leo, you've known Brendan for most of your life,"

"I just want to protect you," Senichi sighed. "I know Brendan will respect your boundaries but the moment he hurts you, I'm breaking his nose,"

XXX

"Rye is an FBI Agent," Gin told Absinthe. "He was supposed to meet me at a warehouse to work under me. I sent someone to scout ahead because I had a gut feeling that it wouldn't turn out well. It turned out that the warehouse was full of FBI Agents. Akemi and Shiho have been moved to new apartments,"

"I see," Absinthe hummed. "The organization has rats. Thankfully you managed to sniff out Rye,"

"There's one thing that's been bothering me," Gin said. "His real name is Akai Shuichi. The name Akai sounds familiar, like I've heard it before, but I can't recall where or when,"

_ 'It's been so many years and his mind's full of more important things like info regarding the organization and his missions,'_ Absinthe noted. _'He calls me Senichi from time to time, but he probably remembers my name as Senichi Field, which I used at Crow Academy,' _"Don't think too hard about it. If you forgot then it means that it wasn't important,"

* * *

**Do not ask where Absinthe stored the corpse. It's a secret of Absinthe's that not even I know.**

**The woman in the beginning…a potential ship? I kinda made her identity a bit obvious.**

**Yose Hyuann:  
Fanfiction inside fanfiction. And I cried after reading it.  
I've been reading view of your stories but I'm still wondering: Why I like it?  
Like seriously, I'm not much of a fan for OC's but yours…it's addicting. Most of the chapters (As much as I read on DC fandom in your profile XD) are short but you sent your message very clearly. And like I said, it's very addicting.  
I don't know what to say anymore, so I will just continue reading. And thank you for reading this.**

**Skai:  
I'm glad you enjoy my stories enough to continue reading. Some of my OCs can be…cringey such as Kaishi Daichi from one of my old stories, **_**Trapped in the DC World. **_**Over the years, I've done my best to improve my OCs such as giving them more emotions and some scenes outside of the plot.**


	28. Concert

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter VII  
Concert  
Warnings: None**

Continuing living had always been painful for Akai Senichi. When he had first been reborn, he had suffered from survivor's guilt and was plagued with nightmares of the inferno that had killed him and his parents. Even after so many years, the image of their corpses with expressions of pain and agony was still engraved in his mind. He had managed to move on by being surrounded by a loving family.

Then, he was harshly torn away from that loving family. He was thrust into the cruel side of the world, a part of the world he didn't really know existed outside of the organization. At Mad Dog Arena, he was forced to kill innocent children. In that hellish world, he had befriended his three cellmates. Fate decided to be even cruel and one of his friends died by his hands.

And then the organization had rescued them. Though it was still a tough world, it was better than the conditions in Mad Dog Arena. Senichi and his friends had to steel their hearts and commit crimes in order to survive. They became Absinthe, Gin, and Curacao. Senichi continued surviving in order to fulfill his promise to Ahren and protect Brendan and Harimanna. He had also promised Aunt Elena that he would look after Akemi and Shiho.

When Akai had infiltrated the organization, he tried to avoid him as much as possible. Eventually, Rye found out his identity and they shared a tearful reunion with their father. Knowing that his brother and father still loved him, even after he revealed that he had become a monster, helped him through the days as a crow. Unfortunately, Akai was exposed as an FBI Agent and ejected out of the organization.

It had been painful. His brother had just _left _him there in the organization. He knew that Akai wouldn't have been able to go back to organization headquarters and, even though he was exceptionally skilled, he would've be captured and tortured for information. Akai couldn't come back for him. Besides, Senichi himself said he couldn't leave Brendan and Harimanna behind and that he wanted to destroy the organization from the inside. But that didn't make it hurt any less.

He made a sort-of friend with the American woman at a bar he frequented. Though they never exchanged names and both tended to be at least slightly drunk, they still enjoyed each other's company and ranted about how much life sucked. It hurt him when she suddenly stopped coming to the bar out of the blue. He visited for the next few weeks, but she never returned. Had their friendship meant nothing? Were they even friends at all?

XXX

Absinthe was transferred back to America and Leo Field returned to his singing career. The FBI knew that he was a crow but due to a lack of evidence, they couldn't outright arrest him. It seemed that the FBI didn't know that Absinthe was actually Akai Senichi and to be honest, he wanted to keep it that way. The FBI had been the one to provide Hiro with the necessary documents to start a new life as Hamura Sai on Akai's orders.

Leo was going to be performing at a concert. He would not only be singing his "original" songs AKA Detective Conan openings, but he would also be singing songs from other anime that existed both in the Real World and in the Detective Conan World. These anime included Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. Of course the venue had obtained blanket license.

Leo stepped out onto the stage. _"Hello America, I'm back!" _He paused as the crowd cheered. His eyes widened ever so slightly once he managed to single out two people in the sea of people. _'Shuichi and Dad…they're wearing sunglasses and face masks but it's no mistake that it's them! They're…they're here at my concert,' "So I want to start off this concert with a bit of anime, if that's fine with you guys," _Of course, none of his fans minded. _"I will be singing an English cover of Guren from Naruto Shippuden,"_

_You always said that wherever the light shines, there is also a shadow  
So I will not forget the memory of the words you spoke long ago_

_Though I thought I'd finally found some true strength,  
my weakness killed the flame once again  
But the spark inside my mind will not die  
It's burning bright  
And as it slowly grows, my soul explodes!_

"He's singing it with so much emotion," Tsutomu said to his eldest. "He hasn't sang with this much passion in all those videos that I watched. Do you think he saw us?"

"He looked in our direction," Akai nodded. "It's unlikely since this is a large crowd, but it's possible,"

_Crimson love inside my heart burns away the endless dark  
If I wander through the wind, all my tears will fall again  
Though more suffering lies in store, I'll trust the future once more  
As I raise my head, face what lies ahead, and go!_

_ 'The song really suits him,'_ Akai thought. _'He'll have to continue surviving in the organization in order to eventually bring it down in the future. Senichi is really strong and brave. He's already suffered so much and he is still suffering,'_

_I wonder if something lies between the endless lights and shadows  
Is there a hidden truth to life or will I never know?_

_'He's smiling as if nothing is wrong,' _Tsutomu watched the concert with sadness. _'Everyone here is convinced that he's living the normal celebrity life. They don't know the truth behind his act. If I didn't know that he was actually Senichi, I'd most likely be fooled too,'_

_Flying faster than a white thunderbolt,  
my scared heart is quickly filled up with hope  
With my friends nearby, I won't be afraid  
I'll dream of the day when thorns are no more and I run away_

Senichi dreamed of the day when the organization would fall and he would finally be free. He would reunite Brendan and Harimanna with their mother. He himself would be able to finally return home along with Tsutomu and Kohji. He would hug his family tightly and finally formally meet his younger sister, Masumi.

_ 'Soon,'_ He told himself. _'Soon this dream will become a reality. I just need to be patient. I've waited eighteen years already. I can wait a few more,'_

* * *

**The song is Guren from **_**Naruto Shippuden**_** and the translated lyrics are from Black Rage Infinity's fandubbed cover.**

**matsheiist:  
The only character I could think of with short blonde hair and glasses was Sharon, but it wouldn't make sense. So I reread and got some help from the DCW wiki (yes I had to cheat and now I feel like I'm not a real fan, lol). It looks like she has a type.**

**Skai:  
Don't worry about needing to use the DCW wiki. You're still a real fan. A real fan isn't someone who knows everything off the top of their head. A real fan is someone who enjoys reading the manga or watching the anime.  
Sharon isn't the only one with blonde hair and glasses. There's a little **_**birdie **_**that will be paired with the polar bear. **


	29. Jodie

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter VIII  
Jodie  
Warnings: I AM TERRIBLE AT WRITING ROMANCE**

Leo applied the same disguised he had used when he had gone out to his favorite bar in Japan. He had the entire application memorized since he had done it so many times already. It was also a simple disguise so it was preferred to be used whenever he went out and didn't want to be recognized. After all, Leo Vineyard was a famous singer in the US and would be flocked by fans in public.

He arrived at a bar and immediately ordered the same drink he always had: a glass of bourbon whiskey. "Don't you ever get tired of drinking bourbon all the time?" A familiar female voice asked.

Leo glanced to the side and noted that it was FBI Agent Jodie Starling. _'I'm wearing a disguise so she shouldn't be able to recognize me as Leo Vineyard. Wait…' _"What do you mean all the time?"

"We often drank together in that bar in Japan," She claimed. "But you were always a bit drunk. That probably explains why you didn't recognize me right away,"

'_Why couldn't it be some random woman?' _Leo took a sip of his whiskey. _'Of all people, it had to be Jodie Starling,' _"If I recall correctly, which I probably don't, weren't you also somewhat drunk during our meetings too?"

"Yes, but I remember all our rendezvous," Jodie said.

"I remember all of our meetings and everything we talk about," Leo chuckled. "The only things in my memories that were a bit distorted were your face and your voice. I guess that's how alcohol affects me,"

"It's funny," Jodie told him. "We shared experiences to each other, yet we never properly introduced ourselves. My name's Jodie Saintemillion," She offered a handshake.

He accepted the handshake. "I'm Senichi Soren," _'As long as I don't give her my last name, she can't search for any information about me. And it's not like she has any reason to do so either. I'm just a random stranger she met in a bar. I doubt she'd find anything is she searches Senichi Soren since Soren is my middle name. Senichi Soren Akai is in the British database but not in the American one,'_

They surprisingly had a normal conversation that ended without Leo ending up getting drunk. Once he returned to his apartment, Senichi collapsed onto his bed. _'I know I shouldn't get close to her because she's an FBI Agent. I know she will eventually realize I'm wearing a disguise. I know she will eventually find out that I'm Leo Vineyard, son of Vermouth, the woman who murdered her father,'_

_'So then why…' _He placed a hand over his chest. _'Why is my heart pounding so loudly whenever I think about her? What the hell is going on with me? What is this feeling?' _He ran a hand over his face. _'Is…is this love? How can I be in love with her? Am I able to love someone in this cruel and fucked up world?'_

Over the next few months, they had drinks together at least once a week. The bartender and the rest of the staff jokingly called them a couple. Senichi did not miss Jodie's blushing face whenever they were teased. To think that the two of them had fallen in love with each other, yet neither asked the other out first.

XXX

"Jodie, you're lost in thoughts again," Akai said.

"Sorry," Jodie apologized.

"Are you thinking about that boyfriend of yours?" Akai questioned.

"He's not my boyfriend," Jodie flatly denied, though the tint of pink on her face gave her true feelings away. "Why does everyone call him that? Even everyone at the bar says we're a couple,"

"You always talk about him, yet you never mentioned his name," Akai recalled. "You seem really fond of him,"

"Did I really not tell you his name?" Jodie asked. "His name's Senichi,"

Akai momentarily froze. _'Senichi? As in my brother? Leo Vineyard _is _in New York, but is it really him?' _"Do you know his full name?"

"Senichi Soren," Jodie answered. "I introduced myself to him as Jodie Saintemillion,"

_'Soren!? That's Senichi's middle name!' _Akai's eyes widened. _'Senichi is dating Jodie!? Does that mean the organization sent Absinthe to seduce Jodie in order to get information from the FBI, just as I had done the same through Akemi? No, that can't be. Senichi doesn't know that Jodie's an FBI Agent. They didn't even know each other's name until recently,'_

"Shuu, what's with that expression you're making?" Jodie raised a brow. "What's so shocking about me introducing myself as Jodie Saintemillion instead of Starling?"

"It's nothing," Akai said. "I'm glad that you found someone else who could love you," _'I don't know if this romance will last, but even if it's for a short time, I want you both to be happy. You both deserve to live freely. But the reality is that both of you are chained to the organization in some form. Senichi is chained as Absinthe. You, Jodie, are chained by your desire to avenge your father,'_

"He and I are not dating!"

XXX

Senichi fiddled with the rose in his hand. _'I took a bunch of online quizzes and the results were all the same. They all told me that I'm in love with her. The pounding of my heart is also proof that I am in love. I want to start a relationship with her, but it's risky. She's a hound. I'm a crow. But I think I can make this work. I have more freedom than when I first joined. I'm a high ranking operative like Gin and Curacao. And it's not like it's known that Jodie's an FBI Agent,'_

"I'm sorry I'm late," Jodie apologized as she took a seat beside him. "Is there something wrong? You called me to our spot so suddenly,"

"I felt it was necessary to ask this in person," Senichi took a deep breath and held the rose out to her. "Would…would you go out with me?"

Jodie reached out and took the rose. "I would love to,"

Dating Jodie was one of the best things that had ever happened to Senichi. He ensured that he was always free during their dates. Their dates was their escapes from their jobs as a crow and an FBI Agent. Sometimes their dates ended up with them both staying the night at Senichi's apartment that he was renting. It was a separate apartment from where Leo Vineyard lived.

One of the gifts that Senichi received from Jodie was a beautiful necklace. The pendant was a black German shepherd with the initials S+J on the back. He had broken down in tears when she had given it to him for his birthday and thanked her profusely. It was a gift that Senichi would treasure forever.

XXX

Sharon Vineyard had "died" and a funeral was held. Of course Leo had to attend and Chris only attended so she wouldn't face backlash. The public thought that Chris and Sharon had gotten into an argument over Chris dressing up as Sharon's deceased husband at his funeral. Chris had to put aside their differences and attend Sharon's funeral.

_ 'I've never been to a funeral before,' _Leo thought as he placed a flower on the casket. Inside was a corpse made to look exactly like Sharon Vineyard. _'It's really gloomy and depressing. Then again, what did I expect? Someone died, at least that's what everyone here believes except for me and Vermouth. Is this how it was at my funeral? Everyone thought I was dead. Of course it would be like this, maybe even more depressing than this funeral. After all, I suffered a tragic fate,'_

Leo caught a glimpse of Jodie whose eyes narrowed when Chris said her signature catchphrase in front of their mother's casket. _'Oh right, that's why Jodie started to become suspicious of her in the first place. This will also lead to her learning that Vermouth doesn't age,'_

* * *

**How long will Jodie X Senichi last?**

**Lucy:  
So I read the last review and your reply, so I'm gonna guess who the blond with glasses was and well I can only come up with Jodie Starling…**

**Skai:  
Yes, she is Jodie.**


	30. Mother

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter IX  
Mother  
Warnings: Massive Spoilers for Ch 1049**

Absinthe was back in England for a mission with Vermouth. Apparently they were going to lure a woman out by disguising Absinthe as her husband. He froze for a brief moment when he was shown the photo but he kept his poker face. _'Akai…Tsutomu? Then…the woman we're meeting…is Sera Mary? It's…Mama? In canon, _Vermouth _was the one who poisoned her!?' _"Alright, alright, I'll do it," _'I don't have a choice. At least I _know _Mama will survive. She'll shrink to middle school age for some reason rather than a seven year old,'_

XXX

Mary leaned against the balustrade of Vauxhall Bridge. She took a sip of her coffee when she noticed someone approaching. _"My…you're awfully late, Tsutomu-san,"_

Absinthe had removed his red contacts, put on fake facial hair, and styled his hair to match Tsutomu's. He didn't really need a full mask since he looked very similar to his father. _"Forgive me, Ma—Mary," 'Shit, I almost said Mama!' "It's been so long that I had difficulty recalling that our usually meeting stop was at the balustrade of Vauxhall Bridge, right in front of the Headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service,"_

_"And?" _Mary asked. _"Did you figure out who killed Haneda Kohji?"_

_ 'He's alive, Mama. He's alive and Dad's alive too. They faked their deaths,' _Absinthe continued his act. _"No, only that it was done by a rather large organization. They targeted me so I went on the run,"_

_"And why did it take you over a decade to get in touch with me?" _Mary questioned.

_ "I told you when we happened to cross paths downtown the other day, remember?" _He reminded. _"While escaping from __**them**_**, **_I injured my head rather severely so I contracted amnesia and roamed about the city for quite a long time. I was finally able to regain my memory thanks to meeting you again, and I should be able to return to MI6 in a year's time. But more importantly, did you bring our sons with you to London?"_ _'Vermouth knows about Shuu and Kichi…B-But nothing bad happened to them so they should be safe for now,'_

_ "No, I came with our daughter," _Mary informed.

_'Masumi…' _He remembered the meeting from nine years ago at the beach. _"Our daughter?" _

_ "Oh my, don't tell me you still can't remember our daughter, who you held in your very own arms?"_

_ 'Dad didn't and she knows that. She and my brothers fled to Japan before her birth,' _He decided to go along with the act. It's not like Vermouth knew about Masumi just yet. _"Did she grow up well?"_

Tears started streaming down Mary's cheeks and her smile disappeared.

_"What's wrong, Mary?" _Absinthe knew the reason. _"Why are you crying?"_

Mary pointed a handgun at his forehead. "When Tsutomu-san and I parted ways, our daughter was still in my womb! Who are you!?"

Vermouth and two men in black appeared and the goons pointed their own firearms at Mary. "That's right, he isn't Akai Tsutomu," Vermouth held up a pill. "We're the people who are about to poison you with this drug, right MI6 Agent Akai Mary-san? I've finally caught up with you. You see, I've been routinely wandering about this area for quite some time using your husband's face,"

"You allowed yourself to be spotted in that getup by our colleagues just to lure me into this country to confirm whether it's really him or not, huh?" Mary had to hold her hands up, the two men's guns pressed against her back. "You even made sure to let three years go by until we met again only to establish the veneer of coincidence and avoid suspicion,"

"Indeed. You see, if the supposedly dead Akai Tsutomu were to return to MI6, you, that wife of his who suddenly disappeared, could prove problematic," Vermouth said.

"It's certainly true that I can tell if it's my husband or not, just as this time," Mary claimed. "I can tell if it's a disguise made by the witch of a thousand faces," She glanced at Absinthe. "But yet your brother, Leo Vineyard, was the one who wore the disguise today rather than you,"

Vermouth let out a chuckle. "You can recognize your husband but not your own son?"

"Son?" Mary's poker face dropped. "What nonsense are you spouting!?"

"Though he used the name Senichi Field at the academy, it was quite easy for someone to trace back his origins if they wanted to know more about him," Vermouth smirked. "Leo Vineyard is Akai Senichi,"

_ 'Of course Vermouth researched my background since I was her student,' _Absinthe thought. "Is that why you brought me along? To have an oh-so-touching reunion with my dear mother? Family means nothing to me,"

"Liar!" Mary denied. _'No…it's not him! Senichi's dead! These people are just trying to take advantage of the thin glimmer of hope that Senichi is alive! They're tainting his name!'_

"Vermouth, she's right you know. Senichi died in Mad Dog Arena where the world had forsaken him," Absinthe glared at her. "I am not Akai Senichi. I am Absinthe,"

"Even if you kill me here," Mary said. "I've already instructed my daughter to inform MI6 that Akai Tsutomu is a fake if I don't make it back in time. She'll also leave London if that is the case,"

"Then why don't I disguise myself as you and pay your daughter a visit?" Vermouth smirked.

"Ha! You make it sound as though you're aware of my daughters whereabouts," It was Mary's turn to smile. "Although I imagine it especially difficult for you, given that you weren't even aware of her existence," _'Though, I have to be wary of that Leo Vineyard man,'_

"She doesn't have a daughter," Absinthe spoke up. "If she did have one, why would she risk her by exposing her existence to us? Though, I'm sure she does have a partner that will relay that Akai Tsutomu is a fake,"

Mary narrowed her eyes. _'Nine years ago at the beach in Japan, Leo Vineyard saw me with my two sons and daughter. He _knows _that I have a daughter. Why is he lying?'_

"I suppose I'll have to postpone infiltrating MI6 for now," Vermouth bit the APTX 4869 capsule. "My only other objective is…" She forced Mary to ingest the poison through mouth to mouth. "Killing Mary Akai. Your survival would be very troublesome for me. I wonder, how does it feel to depart from this world at the hands of your sister's creation?"

Mary screamed as pain wracked her body. She turned and fell over the railings of the bridge, diving into the River Thames. "What should we do?" One of the two unnamed goons asked.

"The poison kills without a trace," Vermouth said. "Our mission is complete. Let's leave the area before people start suspecting us,"

XXX

_'Am I dead?' _Mary's fingers twitched. _'No…I'm alive. But how?'_ She sat up and found that she was on a couch and in someone's apartment. _'Where am I?'_

"Mary, are you alright?" Tsutomu walked over to her and knelt down. He spoke in his native language of Japanese rather than English.

Mary really wished she still had her gun with her and glared daggers at the man. "You're not Tsutomu-san!"

"He's the real one," Senichi came into the living room, his hair damp. He wore a fresh change of clothes. "I followed your scent and found you unconscious. You nearly drowned. I pulled you out and brought you over to Dad's and Kohji's apartment,"

"Liar!" Mary snapped. "Tsutomu-san and Kohji-kun are dead!"

"We survived," Kohji told her. "We knew that the organization was after us so we faked our deaths,"

Mary turned to Tsutomu. "Tell me something that only Tsutomu-san knows,"

"We first had sex in the back of my car," Tsutomu answered flatly. "You wore a pink sexy bunny suit and I wore a—"

"We do not want to hear about your guys' sex life!" Senichi and Kohji snapped.

_'There's no way that the organization knew about _that_!' _"You're the real Akai Tsutomu," Mary whispered. "You're…you and Kohji are alive…" She whirled her head around to face Senichi. "Are you…are you Senichi? Or was she really lying?"

"He really is Sen-chan," Tsutomu informed her. "Mary…Sen-chan is alive,"

Senichi started to head to the door, refusing to look his mother in the eye. "I…I'm sorry. I couldn't stop Vermouth from poisoning you. I didn't have enough time to come up with a plan. Even if I did have time, I was worried that they'd use Masumi and Shukichi to get to you,"

Mary jumped off the couch and grabbed Senichi's wrist. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself. I should've been the one protecting you but…I failed as a parent,"

"I want you to stay with Masumi," Senichi ordered. "You are the little sister outside of the domain. I…I don't want Masumi to be left alone. Loneliness is terrifying. I'm sure you can adapt to being able to protect her in case the crows do go after her,"

"Senichi…" Mary said. "I…I'm sorry for giving up on you. It's that it was so many years since you were taken and Mad Dog Arena was destroyed,"

"It's fine," But deep inside, Senichi was hurt that members of his family didn't believe that he had survived. He suddenly gripped his shoulder and winced. "Damn it…"

"Take off your shirt," Tsutomu ordered.

"I'm fine," Senichi said. "I just reopened a recent wound,"

"Senichi, let us help you," Mary requested. "Even if it's just this one wound, at least let us help because this time we can actually _do_ something,"

"Fine," Senichi sighed, sat down on the couch, and removed his jacket and his shirt. Thankfully Tsutomu and Kohji's apartment had a dryer or else Vermouth would grow suspicious of why his clothes were wet.

Mary audibly gasped. "All these wounds…they're from _them_?"

"Ignore my scars!" He snapped. "Just focus on tending to my shoulder wound!" He pointed to his left shoulder where it was starting to bleed again. "I…I can't stay here for long. It'd be too suspicious,"

Tsutomu and Mary nodded in understanding and started to tend to Senichi's wound wordlessly. Once they were done, Senichi threw his shirt back on. "I'm leaving England the morning after tomorrow,"

"Not right away?" Kohji questioned.

"Vermouth said that an acquaintance of hers needed someone to sing at a concert since the idol group originally scheduled had an emergency come up," Senichi sighed. "I should probably decide which songs I'll be performing,"

"I want to watch your show," Mary said. "Now that I know you're Leo Vineyard, I want to watch you,"

"I'm sure the concert will be shown live on television," Senichi told her. "I'm not sure which channel it will be on though. This is my first time performing in England,"

"Tsutomu-san, Kohji-kun," Mary asked. "How did you know that the organization would go after you guys? How were you so well prepared?"

"Err…" The two shared a look and then glanced at Senichi.

"It's because I'm a dimensional traveler," Senichi revealed. "You know how I acted older than my actual age? It's because I'm a reincarnate. My name from my previous life was Michael Leo Field. I died at seventeen years old,"

"I understand the reincarnate part, but what do you mean by dimensional traveler?" Mary inquired.

"In the world Michael Leo Field lived in, the world we are currently in is fictional and known as the Detective Conan World," Senichi informed. "I…I was never part of this world originally. I'm an outlier, someone who doesn't belong,"

"Senichi we've been over this," Tsutomu hugged his son. "That's the canon timeline. In this world, you _do_ belong. You were meant to be born,"

"My kidnapping caused you so much pain," Senichi reminded. "If I never existed, you wouldn't have felt that pain,"

"If you never existed, then Tsutomu-ojisan and I would very much be dead," Kohji pointed out. "If it weren't for your warning, then we would've _died. _Well, at least we'd know that I definitely died. You said that Ojisan's death was never confirmed because his body was never found,"

After going more in depth with the explanation, Senichi looked at the time. "I need to get going. It'd be too suspicious if I stay here any longer,"

Mary brought Senichi into a hug. "Stay safe, Senichi,"

"One day the organization will fall," Senichi told her. "One day we can be a family again. I'm just not sure exactly when,"

* * *

**When Mary returned to Masumi, she didn't inform her of her older brother, cousin, or her father's living status. The three wanted their status still kept secret for the time being.**


	31. Sisters

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter X  
Sisters  
Warnings: I STIL CAN'T WRITE ROMANCE**

At thirty two years old, Absinthe was going to be transferred back to Japan. This horrified Senichi but he didn't let it show. He called Jodie out to the park and when they arrived, she could tell that something was wrong. "Because of my job, I will be moving to Japan,"

"Oh,"

"It won't be fair to you if we continue this relationship," Senichi sighed sadly. "Let's break up,"

"What?" Jodie asked. "We can just have a long distance relationship?"

Senichi shook his head. "My job is very time consuming. I can't quit due…due to a contract. If I break the contract, I'll be sent to prison," _'If I try to leave the organization, I will be killed,' _"I'm sorry Jodie. I didn't mean to break your heart like your ex did. I'm so sorry. But I don't regret the time I spent with you. I really do love you but we have to break up. I'm sorry,"

Once he got home, he tore off his mask and burned the disguise. He would never again be using it. He kept a single physical photograph of him and Jodie in his wallet. The rest, he also destroyed. He hid all of the photos of their time together in an SD card. The one other thing he kept was the necklace she had gotten him. It held so much sentimental value of both Jodie and Sable. He couldn't throw it away nor could he destroy it. Their romance had lasted a little under two years.

XXX

_'I am thirty two years old,' _Leo thought after he had been in Japan for a few weeks. _'That means Akai is thirty two years old. That is the age he was during the start of the series. I haven't seen Kudo Shinichi's name in the papers for a while, so this is most likely after the Big Shrink. I need to act fast. Akemi dies near the start of the series and I still don't know if we're following the anime or the manga, or even if we're following the canon timeline at all. It's never been revealed that Gin and Curacao are related and it's never been confirmed that Gin and Sherry were in a romantic relationship,'_

_'I can't do this myself. I want to do it myself, but I can't. The FBI are still in the US. They probably won't make it in time,' _Leo took out his cell phone and clicked on a NOC's name. _'I want to save Akemi,'_

XXX

Leo stood in the warehouse, near the entrance. "You're late,"

"I just came back from a mission," Bourbon claimed. "I'm surprised you're not in your Absinthe getup,"

"I called you here because I need your help," Leo informed.

"Help?" Bourbon raised a brow. "It's not everyday someone of your caliber asks for help,"

"I don't need Bourbon's help," Leo said. "I need National Police Agency Security Bureau Officer Furuya Rei's help. Not for me, for Akemi. Her life is on the line,"

"If you knew where my true allegiance lies, then why didn't you turn me in to the boss?" Rei asked. _'After some research about the nicknames he gave, I found out that Nalabaga meant red (Akai), Banuar meant hero (Hiro), and Awan meant zero (Rei) in Ilocano. He knew from the beginning, yet never sold us out. What exactly is his aim?'_

"Because I want you to help fake Akemi's death," Leo answered. "She was given the task of robbing a bank of a billion yen. Gin lied to her saying, that if she does so, she and Shiho would be able to leave the organization,"

"Did Gin tell you this?" Rei inquired, trying to find out who he had to work with.

"No, I found out through other sources," Leo stated. _'Since Curacao, a movie-canon character, exists, then I'm going to assume that we are following the anime storyline,' _"She's using the alias Hirota Masami and is currently an employee at Beika City Bank. In a few weeks she will commit the robbery,"

"Why should I help you?" Rei asked.

"First of all, I am holding the fact that you're a NOC hostage," Leo listed. "Secondly, I can shoot you in the head right now. Thirdly, I'll let you talk to Morofushi Hiromitsu,"

Rei tensed up but still continued his act. "I don't know who Morofushi Hiromitsu is," _'Hiro is dead! It's that bastard's Rye fault!'_

"Do you know who Hamura Sai is?" Leo questioned.

"No,"

"Good," Leo took out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Because if you did, then I'd be pissed at Morofushi. It was a lot of hard work and planning to fake his death," He set the call on speakerphone.

_ "Hello, this is Hamura Sai speaking,"_

"Good to know that you're still alive, Morofushi," Leo said. "The boss wants to eliminate Miyano Akemi. I want to fake her death. Help me convince Furuya to assist,"

_ "Zero?"_

Rei's poker face had cracked and his eyes were wide. He quickly shook his head. "You may have mimicked his voice but there's no way that you're Hiro,"

_"Zero, it _is _me. I'm alive,"_

"I saw Hiro's corpse!" Rei snapped, breaking character. He would not stand for someone posing as his deceased best friend.

_"That wasn't my corpse. It was another guy's corpse that Absinthe disguised as me. I was going to commit suicide but Rye stopped me and revealed that he was an FBI Agent. That's when Absinthe showed up dragging a corpse with him. He pulled me aside and had Rye shoot the corpse just as you arrived,"_

"Tell me something that only the real Hiro would know," Rei demanded.

_"The reason you became a police officer was because you wanted to find Miyano Elena who had suddenly disappeared," _

"Absinthe could've told you that," Rei scoffed. "He's seen me around the Miyano's before their passing,"

_"We were part of the Onizuka Class with Matsuda, Wataru, and Hagiwara,"_

"Anyone could find that out by looking through files far back enough," Rei said.

_"You once dressed up as a girl for an entire day because you lost a bet with me and Hagiwara constantly flirted with you, not knowing that it was actually you in disguise,"_

"Alright, I'm convinced," Rei tried his best to remain calm despite that secret being revealed about him.

"So you'll help me fake Akemi's death?" Leo questioned as he ended the call.

"Yes," Rei agreed. "In return, I want to know who you really are. You've been part of the organization since you were a child, but I know that you're not actually Vermouth's son,"

"Hey, I helped fake Morofushi's death," Leo reminded. "And I let you speak with him. I owe you nothing,"

"I didn't ask you to do those things," Rei pointed out. "Besides, how will you fake Akemi's death without my help?"

"My real name doesn't matter for I have been forced to throw it away years ago," Leo answered truthfully, referring to his original life. "I doubt I am in any databases anymore, no matter which country's you check. If you must know, my real name is Michael Field," He showed no signs of lying because everything he had just said was the truth.

XXX

"Where are you?" Akemi entered the warehouse. "Come out!"

"Good job Hirota Masami," Gin and Vodka stood at the entrance. "No…Miyano Akemi,"

"Can I ask you something?" Akemi glared at them. "Why did you kill those two?"

"That's our way of doing things," Gin claimed. "Now, hand over the money,"

"It's not here," Akemi told them. "I stored it somewhere,"

"What!?" Vodka exclaimed.

"Before that, my little sister," Akemi ordered. "Bring out my little sister like you promised. After I completed this job, you'd let me and my little sister leave the organization,"

"Hmph, I can't do that," Gin refused. "She is still of use to the organization. Unlike you, your little sister is an important person in the organization,"

"Then, you never intended it from the start!" Akemi yelled.

Gin aimed his Beretta M9 at her. "Now, this is your last chance. Tell me where the money is,"

"You're too late," Akemi pointed her own handgun at the silver haired man, even though it was no use since she was outnumbered and they were more skilled than her. "If you kill me, you'll never know,"

"The naïve one is you. I know that you've brought a coin locker key or something with you. Besides…I told you that it was your last chance," He pulled the trigger and shot her stomach.

Akemi collapsed and Vodka searched through her pockets, finding a coin locker key. Gin grinned. "Let's go,"

After the two men left, the officers from both the Public Security Bureau and the National Police Agency Security Bureau rushed inside. They had managed to secretly convince Akemi to wear a bulletproof vest lined with blood packets along the abdomen. They swiftly swapped her out with the body of a woman with a similar build to her, wearing the same attire, and disguised to look identical to her. They then left the scene.

When Conan arrived, he was horrified that he was too late. "Masami-san! Masami-san!" He desperately tried to rouse her, not knowing that it wasn't the real Hirota Masami. But he didn't receive a response and solemnly called Inspector Megure.

XXX

Leo was in his apartment and watching some anime when he received a knock at his door. "Leo Vineyard's not home," He called in a different voice, not wanting to be interrupted.

"Open the door," It was Gin's voice.

Leo sighed and opened the door. "What is it? I'm busy watching anime,"

Gin didn't immediately answer and entered, shutting the door close behind him. "Miyano Akemi is dead,"

"What?" Leo turned off the TV. "No seriously, I couldn't hear you. What did you say?"

"I was given the order to kill Akemi due to the risk of her still contacting the traitor Akai Shuichi," Gin said. "I never fail missions,"

"And?" Leo was glad that his acting skills helped him keep a straight face. "How did Sherry react?"

"She was angry as expected," Gin answered. "I was told to not tell her the reason of Akemi's execution. She refused to continue her research until she received an answer. As a result, she is currently locked up in a chamber,"

"I see," Leo hummed. "Sacrifices have to be made. Shiho should understand that,"

"You seem to be taking this well," Gin noted.

"The organization saved us," Leo pointed out. "They took us away from that hellhole when the world had abandoned us. We owe our lives to the organization. Akemi was never an important member. I have engraved that into my mind. Though she is, or rather was, my friend, her living was deemed a liability and thus had to be removed. But still, a promise is a promise even if her death was an order," Without any warning, he punched Gin in the face. "You hurt Shiho so I broke your nose,"

XXX

They first treated Gin's broken nose before arriving at the laboratory building where Miyano Shiho worked and was held. However, the chamber was empty except for the handcuffs still attached to the pipe and her shoes. "How!?" Gin exclaimed. "How could she have escaped!?" He turned to Leo. "Track her down!"

"Eh?" Leo raised a brow.

"Bears have the best sense of smell of any animal on earth," Gin pointed out. "Track down her scent trail,"

"No," Leo refused. "You do it. A wolf still has a pretty good sense of smell too,"

"I refuse to rely on the abilities that _those bastards _gave us!" Gin snapped. "Besides, even if I wanted to, you broke my nose and I haven't used my wolf abilities for years now,"

"Then don't go on and rely on me or Curacao to track Sherry down," Leo told him. "You're a high ranking operative. Track her down using the organization's methods," _'I never took into account on how to prevent Gin from finding Shiho through her scent. Thankfully he's adamant against using his wolf traits,' _"Or are you not good enough of an operative to find the traitor?"

"I'll find Sherry and I'll kill her myself!"

* * *

**Gin full on refuses to use his wolf abilities since he wants to be completely human. Curacao rarely uses her tiger abilities but will use them if it's convenient or necessary for her missions. Absinthe will use it whenever it is of use to him.  
The reason why Gin was assigned to track down Sherry is because she escaped while in his custody, therefore the responsibility lies with him. And you know, if you make a big mistake in the organization, you…are eliminated…Well, Gin would most likely be tortured and punishment rather than eliminated since he's a valuable asset.  
Akemi's alias is Katsuki Sakiko, a combination of the names of her two Japanese voice actors, Tamagawa Sakiko and Katsuki Masako.**

**Velgamidragon: (I hope you don't mind me summarizing your review instead of putting the whole thing here)  
I finally nailed down what it is about this story that makes me feel it's not compelling as it could be.  
You are working with a situation where you've included another character into the cast, among a pivotal group of characters, but nothing significant is changing. For example, I can't really see a reason for why Bourbon needs to continue to think his best friend is dead except that it happened in the canon and it affects later events, but that's not a good in-universe reason for it to happen.  
You never showed Gin's development from the point they started in the story with your OC to the adults they later become, and I think that's a shame because Senichi is supposed to be close to these two and as an adult, Gin is a lot different from his childhood self. If you're following canon, Gin reaches a point in his adulthood where he's willing to kill even his own **_**sister **_**when she betrays the organization by running away, but this emotional/mental transition is never addressed.  
Your OC is so faithful to the fictional story that they're not even trying to fix or alter things like that which may help bring down the Organization quicker. It could be a huge turning point for Senichi's character and create some very interesting storytelling if he stops treating this world as a fictional one.**

**Skai:  
You do not have to apologize for anything. I love long reviews, especially when they tell me how to improve my writing.  
I have no defense when you say nothing significant is changing. My only explanation is I don't know how to write the story without some sort of plot timeline to lean against. Actually, there is one major difference that hasn't appeared in the yet . It's a bit of a spoiler so I'll put it at the end.  
The only reason why I had Bourbon believe that Scotch is dead is because I was following one of Akai's quotes: "To fool your enemies, you must first fool your friends." But you do have a point. I might change it in the revamped version.  
I was thinking of writing some missions with the trio together and Senichi noticing Gin killing his targets without hesitation, but I didn't want to drag the story on. Also, as seen in Chapter 24, I am terrible at writing missions. I felt that I dragged it on long enough with Arc III and was worried that if I continued to drag it on, people would lose interest.  
I have no real defense when you say that Sen's too faithful to the fictional story that he's not even trying to fix anything. I was originally going to make him lose his humanity and have Absinthe be a cruel, ruthless person like Gin, which can be seen in Chapter 22 when I wrote **_**"He no longer held a neutral expression during missions but instead had a mad grin. He couldn't help but slightly enjoy the sight of the crimson staining the floors and walls. The thuds of corpses falling to the floor were music to his ears. He had grown so used to killing that it was a bit enjoyable now." **_**My flimsy and probably invalid defense of why he's faithful to the canon timeline is because it's a trait of Michael Leo Field, as shown in my other story where canon practically drags on and on: **_**Mitsuharu. **_**Both Senichi and Mitsuharu are reincarnates of Michael Leo Field so I wanted them to have at least one similarity in terms of personality, though they had drastically different upbringings so the rest of their personalities are different. (Thinking back, I probably just should've created an entirely new character in the Real World instead of using a pre-existing one.)  
Thank you for the criticism. I actually have all of the story prewritten. I plan on writing a revamped version since I am not satisfied with some parts of the story.  
SPOILER ALERT  
I'm planning on the timeline being shorter, meaning the organization will fall earlier. This story will have a total of forty-six chapters. Senichi starts plotting after **_**Darkest Nightmare.**_**  
END OF SPOILER  
SLIGHTLY UNRELATED SPOILER AHEAD  
I'm actually starting to get out of my comfort zone while writing **_**Mitsuharu (Revamped) **_**by having the timeline actually move forward and giving more character growth to Cognac. I think when I write **_**Fade to Darkness (Revamped) **_**I'll also have the timeline move forward instead of being stagnant like the canon world, I don't think it will impact Senichi much. I'll also do my best to apply the advice you have given me to the RevampVerse.  
END OF THIS SLIGHTLY UNRELATED SPOILER**

**GabrielRavier:  
****Tbh I'm kind of troubled by the fact that Mary just casually accepted in seconds the fact that her son is literally a reincarnated dimensional traveler (like, usually in other fanfictions of this genre, or at least in the ones I've read, the traveler will either have to spend a long time getting the other people to accept it or avoid the issue with technically true statements like "I've seen the future" or "it's like if I'd read about it in a book" (usually the part where they reveal they're literally not from the same world comes sometime after, when the others are more ready to accept it or when they have more time to explain things), but usually they don't just straight up say it like that and get instantly accepted) but otherwise I like this chapter.**

**Skai:  
I'm gonna be completely honest, I literally had no idea how to write Mary's reaction.**** The only two reactions I thought out were Tsutomu's and Kohji's reactions. I know that's not a reason for this bad writing, but I'll do my best to improve it in the revamped version. Thank you for the criticism.**


	32. Reunion

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XI  
Reunion  
Warnings: Suicidal Thoughts**

"Eh?" Leo gave Vermouth an annoyed look. "I have to go to Haido City Hotel for a mourning party for Sakamaki Akiuji?"

"Pisco's mission is to eliminate Nomiguchi Shigehiko," Vermouth informed. "Since both of us have been invited, we are to provide support for him,"

"Can't you just go by yourself?" Leo whined. "Just say I'm sick or something,"

"_That person _ordered us to go," Vermouth responded. "So stop complaining or you'll end up with a bullet in your skull,"

"Fine, fine," Leo sighed. "I need to go find my suit. I haven't had to wear one in forever,"

"Just buy another one," Vermouth suggested. "You have the funds,"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo mumbled.

XXX

He absolutely hated suits. They were too suffocating and stuffy. The tie felt like a noose around his neck. He tried to distract himself and focused on the bright side. The alcohol and the food were pretty good. He conversed with other famous people but if he had to be honest, he didn't give a single shit about them.

He caught sight of Haibara and Conan entering and he mentally groaned. _'Those idiots should've at least worn a disguise! They've known Shiho since she was born so of course they'd know her appearance as a child! Glasses barely do any shit! And Kudo is way too arrogant! He has no weapons except for _one _tranquilizer dart and his sneakers. The crows will shoot him before he can even aim!'_

He reached into his pocket and took out the red handkerchief he had been given. _'Red. Akai. How fitting of me. But I'm not one of the suspects so I guess I can leave without Vermouth. Gin and Vodka will give her a ride home,'_

The lights turned off and the slideshow began. There was the flash of a camera and the sound of a gun firing with a silencer hitting the chandelier chain. The lights turned back on and people screamed at the sight of Nomiguchi crushed beneath the chandelier. It was a miracle that nobody else around him had gotten crushed.

XXX

The eight suspects that had received a purple handkerchief stayed back and were being questioned one by one. Leo had decided to take his leave, though he walked over to the yellow Beetle where Conan and Professor Agasa were. He knocked on the window. "Excuse me,"

"Y-Yes?" Professor Agasa asked nervously.

"Kudo," He addressed Conan who was in the backseat and had grown pale. "You are too cocky. You can't bring down the organization by yourself. Also, you should've at least worn a fucking disguise before coming here!"

"W-What?" Conan stuttered.

"You don't even have a gun," Leo pointed out. "Your watch only holds one dart at a time. You'll be shot dead before you can kick something to knock them out," _'It's only because of Plot Armor that you hadn't been killed yet, though you _did _get seriously injured during the Desperate Revival Arc,'_

"How do you know—"

"I gotta leave before the others notice I'm talking to you," Leo glanced back. "Shiho's in a wine storage room, not sure where exactly. There's a fireplace and a bunch of booze,"

XXX

_'Gin won't think to look in Beika anymore,' _Leo thought as he tore off his suit. _'He knows Sherry would want to get away from where she has been seen, but Haibara will actually stay in this area. I'm really grateful that Gin hates his wolf abilities. Then again, our animal abilities are what chains us to Mad Dog Arena where we suffered and Ahren…Ahren died,'_

_'Reunion with the Black Organization. Pisco's dead and Irish hates Gin now. Pisco was a father figure to Irish. Now that I think about it…as much as I hate to admit it, Vermouth was a mother figure to me. Outside of organization stuff, she sometimes took me out to meals and shopping. When I got sick a few times, she checked up on me every few hours. I know that she doesn't truly care about me and that the act in public was to fool them into believing that Leo is close to Sharon, but it felt so real sometimes,'_

Leo walked over to the martial arts dummy and furiously started attacking with a barrage of Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts. He let out all his frustrations and anger. He hated how he had been torn away from his family. He hated how he and his friends had endured so much suffering. He hated how he had been forced to kill his friend. He hated how he had to become a crow. He hated how much Brendan and Harimanna had changed. They had become so cold and cruel. He had wanted to try to turn them kinder than their canon counterparts, but the three of them had been separated and trained by different mentors.

_ 'I can't think of them as Brendan and Harimanna now,'_ Senichi unconsciously applied his polar bear traits and ended up completely destroying the training dummy. _'They're not Brendan and Harimanna. They're Gin and Curacao,' _He paused once he started only hitting air and looked down at his annihilated training dummy. _'I might need a stronger training dummy, maybe one made of steel,'_

In the safety of his room, he broke down into tears. He fell to his knees and sobbed, hugging himself. There was nobody to comfort him. There was nobody to assure him that everything would be alright. He was all alone. Brendan and Harimanna were long gone. In the cruel world of the organization, he had no one.

_ 'Can I keep Brendan and Harimanna safe even though they're Gin and Curacao now? I promised Ahren that I'd protect them. Even if they're Gin and Curacao, I have to keep my promise,' _He questioned himself. _'We used to have each other's back. We would look after each other and protect each other. But now, even if I protected them, they wouldn't hesitate to kill me if ordered to. I wanted them to get a lighter sentence when the organization falls. To do so, they'd have to help the FBI, NPA, and PSB. But I doubt they'd do it. They would probably immediately kill me if I even bring up the subject,'_

"How much longer do I have to endure this?" Senichi whispered. "I miss my family and my nakama. I miss Mama, Papa, Shuu, and Kichi. I want to get to know Masumi personally instead of what I know from the anime and manga. I want to reunite with Uncle Yasu, Aunt Chi, and Kohji. I want my friends Alistair, Brendan, and Harimanna,"

_ 'I want to die. I can't take it anymore. I want to get rid of all this pain. I'm so tired of this façade. I have to smile in public as if everything is okay even though _nothing _is okay. Death is the only way out of the organization. I know that at the end of the series, the organization will be brought down. But it's so _hard _to wait for that to happen. Not a single year passes since the Big Shrink but it's probably some kind of time loop that everyone else isn't aware of. How many months do I have to wait?'_

_ 'After the fall, I'll be sent to prison like everyone else. I don't even know if the FBI would be able to help me getting a lighter sentence since they're here investigating without permission. Rei might help me, but there's no guarantee. Even if I somehow don't get sent to prison…I can't just waltz back into my family's life. I've been gone for so long and they've changed and moved on. I've changed too. I'm a monster,'_

"_You're not a monster," Akai pulled him into a hug. "You're my brother,"_

"That's right," Senichi recalled. "Both Shuu and Dad saw me in that form, but they accepted me. I know Shuu is trying his best to destroy the organization. I've come this far. I've killed so many people. I can't let my efforts go to waste either. I have no way of directly contacting the FBI, so I'll just have to do my best to survive and assist from behind the scenes if possible,"

_'Jodie…' _Senichi put his hand over the necklace he still kept with him. _'She will probably hate when she finds out that I am also Leo Vineyard. She might think I was only using her, that I never truly loved her. Maybe…just _maybe_…I can tell her who I really am. A-And then Shuu can vouch for me. Even if she will still hate me, if I can just have her hear out my apology, then I will be satisfied,'_

Senichi started coughing up blood. _'I've been using my abilities more often than Gin and Curacao. It's no wonder why I'm suffering more of the side effects. Will…will I be able to survive until the organization's destruction? Ahren died months before Jenever found us, but that was because his venom was slowly killing him. Is my body breaking down from the continuous usage?'_

XXX

"What!?" Conan exclaimed once he, Haibara, and Professor Agasa drove away. "Gin killed Pisco!?"

"Ai-kun forgot to turn off the bug on the glasses left in the fireplace," Professor Agasa informed. "Gin ran away up the fireplace after killing Pisco,"

_'Why didn't Gin fall asleep after I shot him with my needle? If he was sleeping, the police would've been able to catch him,' _Conan thought. _'And how did he know Haibara's every move? He seemed to be sure that she would go to that hotel with the only clue being her hair,' _"Hey Haibara, do you know Leo Vineyard?"

"He's a friend," Haibara answered. "He was like an older brother to me and my sister. He knew my parents,"

"He was the one who tipped us off that you were in a wine storage room," Conan informed. "His mother, Sharon Vineyard, was a friend of my mother. Sometimes Leo babysat me,"

"Sharon and Chris Vineyard are one and the same," Haibara revealed. "Leo told me that. He's not her biological son. He was forced to join the organization. Don't…don't think of him as a bad person. He just tries to survive,"

"So the organization knows that we've shrunk," Conan cursed. "This isn't good,"

"I doubt those two will go out and expose our identities," Haibara told them. "Vermouth tends to be very secretive. I don't know what her motives are, but she won't tell unless absolutely necessary for her survival or benefits her greatly. At any rate, I've already been discovered in this area so Gin will be searching thoroughly for me here. Don't worry, I'll leave tomorrow,"

"Not in your condition!" Professor Agasa exclaimed.

"Gin knows your thought process," Conan said. "So you'll do the opposite of what you just said. You'll be safe with us from now on,"

* * *

**This story's quality starts to go downhill but I'll still post all of the chapters. You can continue reading or you can wait for the revamped version to be posted as separate store which will take a while to finish as I'm making major changes.**

**Velgamidragon: (Ch 31)  
****Oooh, this chapter already feels like an emotional improvement! Just the simple act of Leo revealing to Bourbon that Hiromitsu is alive before Akemi's even killed already raises the uncertainty of how the future story will play out. And Akemi still being alive when that's later revealed to Shiho and Akai would completely rock their worlds. I'm actually VERY pleased to hear you recognize some of the story's weaknesses. Forty-six chapters for this draft, huh? Doesn't seem like there's much narrative time left, but now I'm gonna go back to those Arc III chapters you mentioned and see if I can figure out specifically what isn't working. I don't pretend to be any kind of professional at this, but I'll give it a shot, especially since you have plans for a second draft of this story. :)**

**Skai:  
Just a heads up, there is a possibility of spoilers for the revamped version in my response to your comments.  
I'm gonna be honest, this story's quality goes downhill towards the end. I felt that I started to lose interest in this version but wanted to at least finish it. **_**Fade to Darkness**_** will be used as a skeleton for **_**Fade to Darkness (Revamped)**_** but there will be major differences as well as more details in some parts. Thank you for the constructive criticism.  
SPOILER ALERT  
I'm getting rid of Alistair in the revamped version. I intended for him, Craton, and the Italian mafia to have a role in the final battle, but…the law enforcements wouldn't team up with Italian criminals. If anything, he'll have more of a background character role with cameo appearances.  
END OF SPOILER ALERT **

**Velgamidragon: (Ch 19)  
****Alright, I went through all of the Arc III chapters and the first half was fine. It was a bit of a breather from the intensity of the previous arc with the Mad Dog Arena, but the tension still escalated because now they're in the hands of the organization and we know how bad that is. There's also some early conflict in dialogue and action which is good. Honestly, the arc really only fell flat to me once Senichi was separated from Brendan and Harimanna because while things happened, there was no tension to it. For example, in this chapter, you tell us how the training Senichi had under Vermouth was harsh, how much thinking about Brendan and Harimanna hurt, how he learned about how to increase his defense with his polar bear traits, and how he nervous he was about attending public school. These four things I would recommend showing as actual scenes in detail because these are conflicts that can show Leo's character and his relationships with others. There might be not a lot of "action scenes" so to speak in this arc, but there doesn't have to be as this arc seems to instead be setting up the transition from Mad Dog Arena to Black Organization and is the perfect point in the story to showcase the character development transitions you want to happen in Senichi as well.****  
****Showing one of his training scenes with Vermouth can help shape some of the nuances of his relationship with her. Like, he's being "claimed" as her son, so he regularly spends time with her and what does that relationship actually look like? Especially since he just came from a place where he was punished severely for failure. How does he react to his punishments with her? Does he just meekly accept it? Does he resent her? Does he respect her? Does he silently glare at her? Does he fight back? Does his approach with the punishments or the training change as time goes on? Even showing one scene like that I think would really help give Senichi some depth and feel more concrete in the world.****  
****A whole arc and the earlier chapters in Arc III have established very well that Senichi cares a great deal about Brendan and Harimanna and takes his promise to Ahren seriously. This seems to suggest to the reader that the friendships between him and the other two are important which is why it's upsetting that they're all separated from each other. Show that too! This is the first chapter since he met them in the Mad Dog Arena that he's not near them, so now he doesn't even have them for emotional support. He's alone with Vermouth in a way that he wasn't in the Mad Dog Arena. And his loss of them could feed into his self-isolation and loneliness in school, and you could show that as a scene too. People trying to be friendly, he ignores or blows off. People trying to pick on him, he glares and knocks their teeth in (or however you would want him to respond to these actions).****  
****Having shown that kind of self-isolation, hatred, resentment, etc, you could then use his mission with the Miyanos to help build him back up by actually (much to his surprise) befriending Akemi who's such a force of positive energy and light and kinder than anything he's experienced in literal years that he struggles with himself over it, and she's the first real friend he makes since he lost Brendan and Harimanna which gives him more emotional investment in her survival since she's not just important to Shiho (a character he knows well), but she's also important to him personally. Now, a minor change I would personally suggest is that since he has the mission to befriend Akemi Miyano to observe her parents and he knows they own a clinic, he purposefully falls down some stairs to wound himself (while pretending it was an accident) and have Akemi drag him to her parents that way. Otherwise it makes me wonder what the point of all the harsh training Vermouth has been giving him is for if he really did just unintentionally trip down some stairs.**

**Skai:  
I'm surprised that you considered the first half of Arc III, Crow Academy, to be fine. I considered it to be the least interesting part of the story and after rereading those parts, it seemed a bit on the boring side. I'll do my best to write scenes that shows the characters' development as they grow up in the organization as well as Senichi's relationship with Vermouth.  
SPOILER ALERT  
In Fade to Darkness (Revamped), Senichi is going to be a bit more…unstable. He'll be slightly unstable in Arc I but it worsens throughout the story. Vermouth might become one of his stability pillars and a mother figure.  
END OF SPOILER ALERT  
****"****Having shown that kind of self-isolation, hatred, resentment, etc, you could then use his mission with the Miyano's to help build him back up by actually (much to his surprise) befriending Akemi who's such a force of positive energy and light and kinder than anything he's experienced in literal years that he struggles with himself over it, and she's the first real friend he makes since he lost Brendan and Harimanna which gives him more emotional investment in her survival since she's not just important to Shiho (a character he knows well), but she's also important to him personally." This is a great idea. Since Sen's gonna be a bit darker in the revamped version, Akemi as a stability pillar will help prevent him from becoming completely cold-hearted. As far the falling down the stairs…he was in the process of thinking of a plan and just took the opportunity when he accidentally tripped. But your idea of it being intentional sounds better.**

**Velgamidragon: (Ch 20)  
****To continue from my previous review: with having shown Leo to have a close friendship with Akemi, the kidnapping subplot should be a lot longer. This is a good conflict and this is exactly where I would place it if I was the one writing it, but it needs more. The very introduction to it is currently only two sentences long and Akemi's rescued in barely over 500 words. Show us in real time exactly how Leo finds out about the kidnapping (was it Elena and Atsushi? Another operative? Whom?), walk us through the discussion he has with Vermouth, follow him directly as he arrives at the clinic and hears the details (if he hasn't been given them already), and show his own emotional distress over his young friend being kidnapped.**

**Skai:  
I'm not entirely sure if I'll keep the Akemi-is-Kidnapped idea in. It felt a bit unnecessary to the story. But if Akemi still getting kidnapped leads to more emotional distress to Sen…I might keep it in while expanding on the details.**

**Velgamidragon: (Ch 21)  
****The start of this chapter has good character conflict potential, but I think more setup at the beginning would really help flesh this out and give it some oomph. Like, he's just finished his sparring workout. He's sweaty, bruised, numb, distant. He leaves the sparring room with a towel over his shoulder, not thinking, not a care in the world, he turns a corner, and he hears a voice he recognizes that he hasn't heard in months calling his name. He stops dead and turns, staring wide-eyed at the shocked faces of Atsushi, Elena, and Akemi. His brain is spinning on wheels trying to think of something to say, but he's coming up empty. Of course they were here. Even if he didn't know how Detective Conan went, he'd overheard them decide to accept the Organization's proposal. It was natural to see them here. Inevitable even. So then why did he feel like he'd betrayed them? And then the conversation proceeds from there. In my personal experience, the setup of a scene is, to me, almost more important than what actually happens during the scene I want to write because that's where I can build up the tension.****  
****Now recalling your reply to my review at the bottom of chapter 31, I think it would be an excellent idea to show a reunion of some kind between Gin, Curaçao, and Absinthe, even if the first reunion isn't in mission form. Because they have to meet each other again so that you can show the conflict of the differences in their old relationship with their new one now that they're all older and changed by the Organization. Admittedly, showing just part of a mission showcasing their new abilities and mindsets would work for that kind of character development, even with such a seemingly minor thing as showing Gin refusing to use his wolf abilities unlike Absinthe and Curaçao using their own animal traits, which could in turn serve as an early setup for why he won't use his wolf's sense of smell to hunt down Sherry later.**

**Skai:  
The beginning of the chapter felt slightly rushed after I reread it so I do plan on expanding on the details of that scene. I'm not sure at what point in the timeline Gin, Curacao, and Absinthe will reunite, but I will write a scene that shows their differing personalities.**


	33. Match

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XII  
Match  
Warnings: Mention of Suicide**

Absinthe started undertaking more missions. He wanted to keep his mind preoccupied so he couldn't think about his deepest desires. He couldn't let his emotions get out of control. Besides, the more missions he did, the more he would rise in rank. It would also help him hone his skills. When he wasn't doing missions, he would be busying himself with training. He would spar with other members without the use of his polar bear strength.

Vermouth called him in for a mission one day. He would be joining her and Calvados on eliminating Sherry. A few days before the mission would be carried out, he and Calvados headed to the designated pier and scouted the area for a good sniping position for the latter. It was be easily accessible but hidden enough to not be immediately noticeable. They found a spot on top of some shipping containers.

The night came and both of them were at their positions. There were no FBI Agents in sight, Vermouth having told them in Jodie's voice earlier that they were done for the night. Soon, the two cars came into sight. In the first car were Haibara and Jodie. In the second car was Dr. Araide, or rather Vermouth in disguise. Both women exited their cars.

"Oh, what's up Araide-sensei?" Jodie asked.

"That's what I want to ask!" Araide demanded. "What are you trying to do to her!?"

"No, no!" We were just taking a drive!" Jodie claimed. "Unlike you, I have plenty of time,"

_'Jodie…' _Absinthe bit his lip, allowing the small amount of pain to keep him distracted. He knew that he was the wild card that would change the outcome of the confrontation. He didn't want Jodie, Conan, Haibara, or Ran to get killed. He would do his best to ensure that they survived. Unconsciously, he increased his sense of smell and caught a whiff of Jodie's sense. It was so familiar and calming. He missed her.

"Araide-sensei, you have to go to court for that murder case soon!" Jodie told Araide. "You must testify! Although really, you have to hide the truth that your father was killed by your housekeeper Hikaru-san, who pulled the trigger,"

"Hikaru-san pulled the trigger?" That wasn't what was written in the police report. "What are you saying!? The criminal behind that incident was my step-mother and she died from electrocution! It wasn't from a gun!"

Jodie laughed and Absinthe bit into his hand. _'I miss her laughter. I miss her smile. I miss everything about Jodie. I hate how I fell for you. Romance doesn't exist in the world I live in. Someone like me doesn't deserve your love,'_

"The trigger I was talking about was the breaker to the electricity," Jodie explained. "The person who planned and conducted the murder was the criminal. However, the person who triggered the murder was Hikaru-san, who didn't know anything about putting the breaker back up. So the criminal and the police worked to create a fake investigation record so Hikaru-san wouldn't get hurt,"

"Well, it can't be helped that you didn't know since the record you stole from the police department didn't say anything about it," Jodie continued. "You stole that record because you were planning to stay as Araide-sensei after the court case finished. After all, it's a record of 'that' incident. Am I not right?"

"W-Who on earth are you!?" Araide exclaimed.

_ "A secret makes a woman, woman," _Jodie responded in English. _"Do you remember? They were your last words to me. I've been repeating them many times so as not to forget the words of the enemy who killed my father. Right, Chris Vineyard? No…Vermouth!" _She relayed the events of their meeting twenty years ago. _"I survived, however, because I went shopping for my father's favorite orange juice,"_

_"Oh, was that you?"_ Vermouth tore off her mask, revealing her true face. _"I looked for you desperately because they only found your father's remains in the burnt house,"_

Anger filled Absinthe but he kept himself under control. _'Vermouth killed Jodie's father! I should've done something. I should've asked Dad to help prevent his death too! But I was too focused on saving Dad and Kohji that I didn't think about Jodie's father! I'm sorry, Jodie!' _Guilt pooled in his chest. _'I'm so selfish!'_

Both women drew their guns but Jodie was faster and shot Vermouth's out of her head. "Don't move!"

"Oh my, you're carrying a dangerous weapon?" Vermouth held her hands up. "Did you get permission from the Japanese police?"

"I'll request a co-investigation with the police over here after I secure your existence! Of course, I expect to be punished," Jodie said. "There's something I have to hear from you before that, no matter what! Why don't you age!? The first time I laid eyes on you was when you said that line before your mother's coffin. The fingerprints you left on my father's glasses on your fingerprints were a perfect match! You were the same person as your mother, Sharon Vineyard! But there's another thing that bothered me. Your brother, Leo, seems to age normally. I also doubt that he's your brother by blood though,"

A bullet was fired, striking Jodie in her left side. She slumped against her car, smearing blood across the passenger window and door. Vermouth smirked and took the gun from the FBI's hands. _"Thank you Calvados. Don't kill her yet. I have something to ask this woman,"_

While the two women spoke, Absinthe heard the sound of two approaching vehicles. _'One is a taxi that Haibara took and the other is…Shuichi?' _When he saw Vermouth about to kill Jodie, he couldn't help but aim his gun at his Vermouth. Before he could pull the trigger, Conan kicked his soccer ball through the window and disarmed the crow.

Conan targeted his stun gun wristwatch at Vermouth but was caught off guard by Haibara's appearance. Vermouth used the opportunity to stun Conan with his own tranquilizer. She drew a gun from her ankle holster and pointed it at the shrunken scientist. "Stupid woman, wasting that boy's cute plan. To have taken all that trouble to come and get killed,"

_ 'Shiho!' _Absinthe started walking to Calvados' location, being sure to be as silent as possible.

"I didn't just come to get killed. I came to finish everything," Haibara took off the criminal tracking glasses. "In return, can you promise me that you won't kill anyone besides me?"

"Fine, I'll spare everyone other than this FBI Agent," Vermouth agreed.

Ran kicked the car trunk open and ran towards Haibara, narrowly avoiding Calvados' bullets. She shielded Haibara with her own body. Absinthe slammed his foot down hard on Calvados' leg, applying enough force to break it. Calvados yelped in pain. "A-Absinthe!?"

Absinthe broke Calvados' other leg. "I can't let you kill them,"

"Senichi?" Standing a couple feet away was none other than the FBI's Silver Bullet.

"I told you this before," Absinthe charged at him with a fist. "Right now I am not Senichi! I am Absinthe!"

The two engaged in a battle, though it was obvious that Akai didn't want to harm his brother. Absinthe didn't hold back. He landed several hits, using a mix of Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Martial Arts. It was only when Jodie shot Vermouth's arm did he stop. He tossed Calvados' Remington shotgun to Akai. "Help Jodie,"

Akai was a bit startled by the sudden change but nodded and hurried down. As Absinthe watched the rest of the events unfold, he started swaying. Once Vermouth drove away and Calvados committed suicide, he collapsed. The problem was that he had been standing on the edge of the storage containers and thus fell around twenty to thirty feet.

"Absinthe!?" Jodie exclaimed.

Akai was still for the first few seconds with his brain trying to process the events. "Senichi?" Akai received no response. "Senichi?" He rushed over to him. "Senichi! Senichi!" His eyes widened at the pool of blood around his brother's head. "No…No! NO!"

_ 'Senichi?' _Jodie gasped. _'Does…does he mean Senichi Soren? As in…it can't be, right? The Senichi I dated couldn't have been Absinthe all this time!'_

"Jodie, the story is that the two kidnappers that have been left behind both committed suicide! One of them fell into the sea!" Akai ordered as he gingerly picked the man up. "I'm bringing him to the hospital and asking James to help me hide him,"

* * *

**Absinthe collapsed from exhaustion. He had been overworking himself to keep his mind off of his family and Jodie.  
The reason why the cover story had to include one falling into the sea is because the blood wouldn't match to Calvados and it'd be harder to find a corpse in the ocean. **

**Velgamidragon:  
Well holy crap! Absinthe reveals himself to Conan! Nice! Didn't expect that at all! And pointed out some of Conan's weaknesses early on; perhaps that will have a butterfly effect and stop hm from charging after the Organization without a plan? (Lol, doubtful) Even though I know you have plans to write and post the second draft of this story, I'm still curious to read this one and very happy to see some of Leo's internal struggles regarding the consequences of his actions and what the future holds for him in this first draft. Tonally, I was surprised to see him whine about wearing a suit and going to a party since his current characterization doesn't strike me as the type to whine. Frustrated with Kudo's recklessness though? Hell yeah. Despairing over his relationships work his family, friends, and being lonely. Absolutely.**

**Skai:  
All of what Absinthe pointed out about Conan's plan was what I found frustrating when I read the chapters/watched the episodes. I mean, what would he have done if he did confront Gin and Vodka head on? He only has ONE tranquilizer while there are two crows with many bullets. He would only have managed to possibly sedate one of them, most likely Vodka.  
As for him complaining about suits…I think I unconsciously make all of my OCs hate suits. Absinthe is not a big fan of crowds since he spends enough time around them as Leo Vineyard.  
The tentative title for the rewrite is _Scar(red)let Crow._ If you're interested in spoilers, I posted two on my deviant art gallery:  
shuichi-akai DOT deviantart DOT com**


	34. Coma

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XIII  
Coma  
Warnings: None**

Absinthe was hospitalized in Haido Central Hospital and with the help of James' friend, the director, kept his hospitalization of Leo Vineyard a secret. He was deemed to be comatose. Jodie was released from the hospital within a few days. James brought her to the hospital room Absinthe was kept in where they found Akai sitting beside the unconscious man. His eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Jodie took a seat beside her friend. "Shuu, are you alright?"

"His name's Senichi Soren Akai," He managed to say. "He's my younger twin brother,"

Both Jodie and James let out audible gasps. "Akai-kun, is he really your brother? How did he end up in the organization?"

"Through a series of unfortunate events," Akai answered.

"_Did you think that I didn't _want_ to go home!? Of course I wanted to go home! I had been crying for help for the two years I suffered in that hellhole! You have no fucking idea what I've been through!" He took off his jacket and shirt, revealing the various scars across his body. "Nearly all of these scars are from Mad Dog Arena, not from the organization!" He pointed at his shoulder where the brand still stayed. "I was branded like I was some cattle and not a human! I was forced to kill other children! I had to kill my own friend! I was poked and prodded with needles and experimented on!"_

"I don't want to talk about it," He added.

_Senichi activated his polar bear traits. His mouth became wider and filled with sharp teeth. His entire muscle mass increased. He kicked off his shoes as his hands and feet became larger, clawed, and covered in white fur. He grabbed Akai by his throat and brought him close to his face. "Nobody wants a monster in their family!"_

"It's not my place to say," Even though he could tell the two all about Senichi's past, he wasn't going to do so without his brother's permission. _'I failed you again! It's my job as an older brother to protect you, even if I'm only older by a few minutes! I'm so sorry Senichi! I should've pulled you out of the organization all those years ago! Then you wouldn't be like this!'_

Jodie picked up the necklace she had given to Senichi and noted how it was still in pristine condition. _'Senichi is actually Absinthe. But he is also Shuu's brother. I don't know if he really loved me. He never received any information from the FBI and everything was so genuine. But he was trained by Vermouth, a master actress. The Senichi I dated may have looked different, but these two have the same presence,'_

XXX

"Shuu," Jodie sat down beside her friend. "Do you think…everything he and I had in the past…was a lie?"

"No," Akai shook his head. "Senichi really does love you. If it was all an act on the order from the organization, he would've tried to get to know more about the FBI,"

"I never told him that I was an FBI Agent and he never seemed interested about the FBI," Jodie recalled. "He only wanted to about me personally as if we were just two normal people dating each other. When I mentioned his name, did you know that he was your brother?"

"Soren is his middle name," Akai nodded. "I learned that Absinthe was actually Senichi when he, Bourbon, Scotch, and I had a mission in England,"

"Did he recognize you?" Jodie asked softly. "Does he know that you're his brother?"

"He does," Akai nodded once more. "Do you know the nickname he gave me in the organization? It's Nalabaga. Senichi sometimes used Ilocano phrases. I never gave it much thought but looking back, Nalabaga is Ilocano for red. He knew all along that I was his brother. He knew that my name wasn't Moroboshi Dai, but he never ratted me out. He allowed me to keep infiltrating the organization," _'But I was unable to recognize him until I overheard his conversation with Dad,'_

"Can…can you tell me more about him?" Jodie requested. "I want to confirm whether he told me the truth all those times or if he was lying,"

XXX

"Both Absinthe and Calvados are dead," Vodka said. "The news says that both kidnappers committed suicide,"

"They never found Absinthe's corpse," Gin pointed out.

"It fell into the sea, Aniki," Vodka reminded. "It was probably far away by the time the cops arrived,"

_'Polar bears are great swimmers,'_ Gin thought. "He wouldn't have killed himself. He would've fought 'til the end," _'He's not dead. He's been through worse. He wouldn't break. He wouldn't die,'_

_ "I'm Senichi Akai," _

Gin's eyes widened upon the realization. _'Senichi's surname wasn't Field. We lied about our surname at the academy. His surname is __**Akai.**__ Is he related to Akai Shuichi? Did he _betray_ the organization? I heard from Vermouth that Akai was there. Does that mean Senichi sought out sanctuary from the FBI?' _He exhaled. _'No, what am I thinking?'_

_ "The organization saved us," Leo pointed out. "They took us away from that hellhole when the world had abandoned us. We owe our lives to the organization,"_

_ 'He's loyal to the organization,' _Gin told himself. _'He would never betray the organization. The organization saved us. Besides, he showed no sign of recognizing Akai when he infiltrated the organization and vice versa. People could share the same surname but not be related by blood. He's a valuable member just like Curacao and me. We need to retrieve him alive,'_

XXX

"Shuu, you need to eat," Jodie held a bento box out to him. "It won't do you or Senichi any good if you starve,"

"I'm not hungry," Akai shook his head.

"Eat," Jodie opened it and held a spoonful of rice to him.

"I said I'm not hungry," Akai repeated.

"Then at least get some fresh air," Jodie sighed. "I understand that you're worried about Senichi. I am also worried about him, but you need to take care of your health too. Do you want him to wake up to a zombie?"

"Alright," Akai exhaled loudly. "Some fresh air won't kill me,"

"And food," Jodie shoved the bento box to his chest.

The two headed to the rooftop where Akai and Jodie ate in a brief silence. "Jodie," Akai asked. "Do you hate Senichi now that you know he's Absinthe?"

"No, he's never lied to me," Jodie answered honestly. "Everything he said was the truth. Technically his name really is Senichi Soren, he just never told me his full name. All of his interests and dislikes were the truth. All of the experiences he mentioned were real. When he went on missions for the organization, he claimed they were business trips which could be considered the truth if you claim they were the organization's business trips,"

"He stopped fighting and threw Calvados' shotgun to me once he realized you were at a disadvantage in your fight against Vermouth," Akai said. "He really does love you, Jodie," There was another awkward silence. "Do you think the hospital gift shop sells plushies?"

"I think they sell dog plushies," Jodie told him. "But I'm not sure if any of them will look like Sable. It's worth a shot though,"

XXX

_'It's been weeks and there's been no sign of Absinthe,' _Gin cursed. _'I know he's not dead. He wouldn't commit suicide like the police report said. Why hasn't he made contact with the organization yet? Does he not have his phone with him? Or worse, did he betray the organization?' _He shook his head. _'He would never betray the people who saved us,'_

_'Should I track him down by scent?' _Gin immediately dismissed that idea and took a sip from his alcohol. "I don't need those bastards' help finding Absinthe! We can live on just fine without them! Those abilities are a curse! They're what killed Ahren!" He took another sip. "I don't need these animal attributes. None of us do. I don't understand why Curacao and Absinthe use them sometimes. We're humans. We don't need the power of a wolf, tiger, or a polar bear,"

_ 'They're lucky that I wasn't on the mission to destroy Mad Dog Arena,' _Gin poured himself another glass. _'I'm sure Absinthe wanted to rush things. I would've made sure those bastards _suffered _for as long as possible!' _He finished the rest of the alcohol in his cup.

* * *

**Velgamidragon:  
Ooh, awesome! I didn't expect Senichi to be at the docks during the Vermouth showdown, and I think this one really worked. When I started the chapter and realized what was going to happen, you actually have no idea how excited I was since both Shuichi and Jodie were here and Absinthe obviously has deep personal connections with the two. I was hoping so badly that Absinthe would be the one to break Calvados' legs since he was already there with him and wants Conan, Haibara, Jodie, and Ran to live, and it did! And Absinthe encountered Shuichi and Jodie, she's now wondering if Senichi is the same Senichi she dated, and was taken to the hospital by the FBI away from the Organization which would make the Organization think he was captured and have to decide about either trying to rescue him (like with Kir) or kill him if they think he'd talk.  
(Regarding the review reply) Oh, I agree, but that's why the "Contact with the Black Organization" and "Black Impact" chapters/episodes are two of my most favorite BO cases because Conan recklessly charges ahead with no backup plans in place to get out of a bad situation if something goes wrong and constantly underestimates Gin which nearly got him and Kogoro killed. I can forgive Conan's arrogance in "Reunion with the Black Organization" though because this is the first case he's been in where the Organization is on the offensive rather than neutral (Akemi's murder, the bullet train case, and Tequila's accidental death), so he's unaware of how smart and intuitive Gin is at this point. I don't think there's anything wrong with characters hating suits or crows, it was just specifically the whining part of it that surprised me.**

**Skai:  
I was originally going to write him being captured without being comatose, but it was easier for me to write him being unconscious. As for Absinthe's inner turmoil upon awakening in FBI custody…it's badly written in this version. I don't even know if I'll keep the whole comatose thing in the revamped version.  
My problem with Conan's arrogance is it's what got him into his current situation in the first place. He rushed after Vodka and didn't even stay aware of his surroundings, resulting in Gin knocking him out and poisoning him with APTX 4869. Also, I'm sure Haibara would have repeatedly warned Conan that Gin is very dangerous.  
As for Sen's whining…it just shows how familiar he is with Vermouth. **


	35. Revenge

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XIV  
Revenge  
Warnings: Torture**

Absinthe remained comatose for months. Akai rarely left his brother's side and often talked to him, despite knowing that he wouldn't get a response from the unconscious man. It was a rather sad sight to his fellow FBI Agents.

"You still love anime and manga, right? When you wake up, I'll buy you the entire current manga series of _One Piece_,"

"We should go and eat some gyoza some time,"

"An anime convention is coming up,"

"We should cosplay as your favorite characters from _One Piece,_"

"I'll read you the entire Sherlock Holmes series,"

"Did you know there's an anime adaption of Sherlock Holmes? It's called Kabukicho Sherlock. I don't know if you know this but…Kabukicho is the red-light district. Weird, right?"

"Shukichi's aiming to be the Taiko Meijin,"

"I sent Masumi some Jeet Kune Do tapes when she was in elementary school so now she's pretty skilled and can defend herself,"

"Hey Senichi," Akai's voice was much softer than the other one-sided conversations he held. "If you hadn't been taken away…how would you have turned out? Would we fight a lot during our teenage years? Would we end up being close as adults? Would you be an author like you once mentioned you'd want to be? Would you have joined the FBI alongside me?"

He held Senichi's hand in his own and rested his head gently against the knuckles. "I hope you wake up soon…"

XXX

Akai sometimes went to the rooftop for fresh air with Jodie, though he probably wouldn't have gone without Jodie dragging him there. "Senichi hated constellations," Akai recalled one night. "He claimed that they didn't make any sense, that they don't even resemble what their names mean. He said that any stars could be connected by imaginary lines to form any shape,"

"I kind of understand his point," Jodie agreed. "I can't really see the shapes of any constellations unless someone draws the lines out,"

"He also hated English class, especially finding the author's message," Akai chuckled. "He claimed that not all authors had a hidden meaning in their stories. Some of them were written just for fun and to express their imagination and creativity,"

"He once mentioned to me that he hated math class," Jodie said. "He never told me why,"

"Because his math teacher in Year 4 delivered corporal punishment to him, despite him having done nothing wrong and corporal punishment being illegal," Akai growled, recalling the memory of his brother's hands bruised and bleeding. "His friend's older brother, Craton Rei, was the one who dealt with the bastard,"

"Craton Rei!?" Jodie jaw fell open. "It's rumored that he's the head of an Italian mafia!"

"Really?" Akai hummed. "I don't really pay attention to any news outside of the US, England, and Japan,"

"You should sometimes pay attention to world news too," Jodie suggested.

"Depend upon it there comes a time for every addition of knowledge you forget something you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones," Akai quoted. "That's what Sherlock Holmes said to John Watson in _A Study in Scarlet,_"

"Do you still keep in touch with Craton?" Jodie inquired.

"No but his brother is watching over my family's house in England," Akai answered. "I'm actually glad he took care of Edgar Lo,"

"Shuu…he probably _murdered_ him!" Jodie pointed out.

"I failed as an older brother back then," Akai turned to her with a serious expression. "I won't let anyone tear my family apart. Personally, I'll try to _not _kill them but I make no promises," He had already killed while infiltrating the organization. His hands were stained with blood.

XXX

Gin was in Berlin with Vodka and Riesling, a member stationed in the German branch of the organization. Riesling handed the mission file to Gin. "We are meeting up with Hans Klein. We are blackmailing him for the money. If he doesn't bring the cash at the designated location and time, we kill him,"

_'Hans Klein…'_ Gin narrowed his eyes at the name. _'Is it who I think it is? Having the same given name or the same surname is coincidental, but _both _exactly the same in pronunciation and spelling? That's not a coincidence,'_

"A-Aniki, you're crushing the file," Vodka stuttered.

"Hmph, I'll kill him either way," Gin smirked. "Stay out of the way or I'll kill you too,"

Riesling was startled by Gin's choice. "But we're supposed to only kill him if he doesn't bring the money,"

"Riesling, I don't think you should go against him," Vodka warned. His partner seemed much more bloodthirsty than usual.

Gin pointed his Beretta M9 at Riesling's forehead. "What's the problem? We'll still get the money if he brings it,"

"Nothing," Riesling told him upon being threatened. "I have no qualms with it,"

XXX

Once they reached the meeting place, Gin immediately ordered Vodka and Riesling to watch guard outside around the perimeter. He didn't want them to interfere and he was becoming suspicious of Riesling's behavior. He took a seat on a crate and kept his left hand in his pocket, wielding his trusty gun.

_ 'Hans Klein, you bastard!' _Gin thought with gritted teeth. _'Today is the day you die. It's not every day that a monster murders another monster,'_

Hans entered and once the door shut behind him, Gin fired a bullet into each of Hans' knees. Hans screamed in pain and fell. "Was zur Hölle!? Why the fuck did you shoot me!?"

Gin grabbed Hans by his throat and threw him across the room, destroying the crate he was previously occupying. "You won't be leaving here alive," He started brutally kicking and stomping the man.

"I-I brought the m-money!" Hans stuttered.

"Frankly, I don't care about that," Gin continued his assault.

"M-Mercy! Please!" Hans begged. "I-I have a f-family! T-Two sons a-and a daughter!"

"What are their names?" Gin asked coldly.

"A-Ahren, B-Brendan, and Ha-Harimanna," Hans stammered.

_'So this bastard remembers our names,' _Gin crouched down so he could look at the bloody man in the eyes. "Ahren died years ago. Harimanna doesn't need you and has never needed you. And as for Brendan?" He grinned. "You're looking right at him,"

"B-Brendan!?" Hans stared at him in horror. "B-But—"

"You sold me and my siblings to Mad Dog Arena?" Gin took out a knife and started to carve into the man's body. "What? You didn't think that Manna and I would survive?"

"Barmherzigkeit!" Hans cried out. "Barmherzigkeit! Have mercy on your Vati!"

"You're the cause of all of this," Gin cut off one of the man's fingers.

"AHHH!"

"You sold us to Mad Dog Arena," He cut off another finger.

"STOP!"

"You thought of us as livestock rather than your own children," He sliced off a toe. "Mercy? You never gave any mercy to us,"

"IT HURTS!"

"AND WHY SHOULD I CARE!?" Gin started ruthlessly stabbing at Hans, not caring whether he struck the man's chest, neck, arms, or legs. He hated the man but didn't want to give him the pleasure of a quick death. No, he'd make sure he tortured him for as long as possible.

When Gin finally left, he had set the place on fire allowing the bastard's corpse to burn to ashes. Once Vodka and Riesling saw the blood covering Gin's clothes, they knew that Hans had been murdered.

* * *

**Gin and Curacao's mother doesn't appear in future chapters. Let's just assume that she's dead in this version.**

**Velgamidragon:  
Realizing that you're writing a second draft of this story, you can think of my comments as notes to consider or discard at will depending on whether you think they're relevant to your vision of the story or not. I think all things you hit with this story are both relevant and arguably necessary or logical or both, but to me, there doesn't seem to be much tension or action taking place. The characters talk and think/remember things and give their reactions to the readers. Unfortunately, I'm not skilled enough to figure out what suggestions I could offer to help make this more interesting or important. Sorry! :(**

**Skai:  
When the characters just talk or remember stuff, they're supposed to be more of emotional scenes rather than action scenes. Even if I wanted to have more action scenes, I'm not that great at it. No need to apologize. You're not obligated to help me and have already helped a lot by giving me advice on other parts of the story. **


	36. Clash

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XV  
Clash  
Warnings: One of the Worst Written Scenes in the Entire Fic**

Black Impact happened while Senichi still remained comatose. In order to make things easier, the unconscious Mizunashi Rena was kept in the same room as Senichi. It was nearly three months after Kir's arrival that Senichi finally woke up. Akai was currently not in the room at the moment and it seemed like the guard had been called to a meeting. Senichi rubbed his eyes and blinked away his tiredness, clearing up his vision. He picked up the black dog plushy that sat on a nearby table.

"Sable…" Senichi whispered and brought it close to his chest. _'How long was I out?' _He noted his roommate. _'Kir is already here? This means that I'm in Haido Central Hospital. How long has Kir been here? If I recall correctly, she's comatose for around three months,'_ He winced and put a hand to his head. _'How…how did I end up here?'_ He placed the plushy back down onto the table. _'This place reeks of antiseptics and cleaning products. Ugh,'_

He disabled the heart monitor before removing the devices from his body so it wouldn't make a flatline sound. He then got to his feet and ended up almost falling immediately but managed to regain his balance. _'I need to get out of here. Right now, I'm in FBI territory. I can't trust the FBI, not even Shuu or Jodie. I have to keep up my Absinthe act and return to the crow's nest,'_

He snuck into the hallway and managed to steal some normal civilian clothes while avoiding everyone. He was glad that his black hair dye had been removed or else his blond roots would show at the top of his head and stick out like a sore thumb. Nonetheless, he made sure to also snag a hat to help cover up his face. After all, Leo Vineyard was a famous American singer.

It was quite the walk in the park to leave the hospital once he no longer looked like a patient. Once he got to the parking lot, he realized that he had no means to contact his comrades. _'Shit, the FBI confiscated my phone and wallet. I have not a single yen on me. I'll have to quickly pickpocket an unsuspecting civilian to get some coins for a payphone call,' _

Someone grabbed his hand and on instinct, Absinthe whirled around and attacked. The punch was blocked. "You shouldn't be up and walking around,"

"Don't try to stop me, Shuichi," Absinthe growled. _'I need to distance myself from him. I can't let my emotions get the better of me. I am not Senichi right now. I am Absinthe. I am a crow,'_

"You don't have to return to the organization," Akai told him.

"I _don't _have to return but I _want _to return," Absinthe smirked and attempted to strike his enemy down.

Akai barely managed to dodge. "Sen—"

"Not Senichi," He said. "Absinthe,"

"You don't want to really return to them,"

That angered Absinthe. "Don't act like you know anything!"

"I know because I'm your brother," Akai tried to reason.

"My brother who abandoned me! My brother who gave up on me!" Absinthe yelled, though they weren't his true feelings. "The organization rescued me. They raised me. They trained me. I owe my life to them. I live to serve them,"

Akai held his gun out. "If you are truly loyal to the organization, then shoot me in the head right now,"

Now that caught Absinthe off guard. "What?"

"If you are truly a crow, kill me," Akai held out a wallet and a cellphone in his other hand. "I'll even return your stuff to you,"

"You're lucky," Absinthe snatched his stuff and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm not gonna kill you. It's broad daylight and there's a chance that there'll be witnesses," Not wanting his mask to break, he bolted out of the parking lot.

XXX

Gin's phone was ringing. When he saw the caller ID, he answered it. "Absinthe,"

_ "I was comatose for darkness knows how long,"_

_ 'That speech pattern indicates he's definitely him,' _"Where are you?"

_"I managed to escape the hospital, though I'm not entirely sure which one. I just wanted to get out of there. I managed to flee when they were probably having some kind of meeting and there was no guard. Pretty stupid of the FBI if you ask me. Look, can you come pick up me? I'm all the way at Danny's since I'm starving. I haven't eaten since before the mission Vermouth took me and Calvados on,'_

"Senichi," Gin hesitated as if unsure if he wanted to say it to him. He glanced around at his empty office. "I'm glad you're safe,"

XXX

_ "Senichi…I'm glad you're safe,"_

Absinthe's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Yeah," He ended the call and dug into his plate of spicy curry. At least since he was eating something spicy, he could blame the tears in his eyes on his meal. _'Is it possible that Gin's heart isn't completely cold? Is it possible that he could still care about the friendship between us and also care about Harimanna, even if it's just a little bit?'_

XXX

"You let Senichi leave!?" Jodie exclaimed.

"Akai-kun, Jodie-kun is right," James agreed. "He may be your brother, but he is also Absinthe. You're letting your personal relationships get in the way of your work,"

"He has access to important information and various locations of the organization," Akai told them. "He'll be more useful as a line between us and the crows,"

"Did he say that he would supply us with info?" Jodie pointed out. "This was very reckless of you! Now the organization knows about Mizunashi Rena's location!"

"I handed him my gun and told him to shoot me," Akai said. "He refused. That's enough proof for me," _'He seemed really determined to go back,'_

_ "I _want_ to leave the organization and be Senichi Akai once again, but I can't. I can't leave Bren and Manna behind. And besides, I'm already a high ranking member. I want to destroy the organization from the inside,"_

_ 'He has friends in the organization. He refuses to leave them behind. Those friends were with him through the hard times he suffered when his own family wasn't there for him. I can't force him to leave them,'_

XXX

Clash of the Red and Black happened. Kusuda was revealed to be the spy and killed himself to avoid capture. When communication with him stopped, the crows knew that Haido Central Hospital was where the FBI and Kir were. The crows successfully retrieved Kir, though they were extremely suspicious of her.

"Absinthe," Kir addressed during the car ride. "How did you escape the hospital? There were a lot of guards,"

"If I were a woman, I'd say Vermouth's signature phrase," Absinthe replied.

"Answer the question, Absinthe," Gin ordered. "I also want to know how you escaped,"

"Fine, fine," Absinthe rolled his eyes. "The guard that was watching over me was actually sleeping on the job. The hounds were getting rather complacent, especially since I've been unconscious for months. I treated my escape like any other mission, stole some clothes, and escaped. The reason why they become more alert around you was because I escaped,"

_ 'That doesn't explain how he retrieved his cell phone and wallet,' _Gin thought. _'If anything, they'd be kept as far away as possible in the case that he does awaken. They'd also want to analyze his cell phone's contents,' _"Hmph, the FBI is full of idiots,"

"Just like that dumbass that blew Rye's cover," Absinthe chuckled. "Then again, whether they're geniuses or idiots, the organization will always outsmart them,"

XXX

Absinthe started sparring once he arrived at headquarters. He had gotten a bit rusty due to being unconscious for a long while, but he was definitely not weak. He defeated all of his opponents though he ended up getting more hits than before he was comatose. In a few weeks, he'd be back to his prime form.

Once he had taken a shower at his apartment, he found Gin in his living room. "We're going to meet with Kir,"

"Okay," Absinthe nodded. "Let me dye my hair black and put in some red contacts,"

"That won't be necessary for this mission," Gin said. "We're leaving now,"

"Okay?" Absinthe shrugged.

They reached Kir's location just as she was finishing a phone call. "Yes, that's correct…I feel that this job is mentally impossible, and I want to quite…I'm really sorry…Bye,"

Gin pointed a gun at Kir's back. "Who were you talking with?"

"Don't be silly," Kir replied calmly. "It was the TV station's human resources manager! I was telling the manager that I can no longer continue to be an announcer, and I want to quit because it's bothersome to have them tailing me badly," She glanced at other nearby operatives. "Besides, the organization can hear everything I was talking about and there are many bugs and transmitters attached to me as well as two to three guards constantly following me. So? _That person _who finds me discomforting and is still suspecting me has some mission for me?"

"Not just you, but Absinthe too,"

Absinthe ever so slightly tensed up. _'I haven't taken that into account. Of course I'd be suspected just like Kir. Hell, I'm even more suspicious since I apparently just waltzed out of the hospital,' _"So what's the mission?"

"The both of you are to eliminate FBI Agent Akai Shuichi," Gin informed.

"Gin, how the hell do you expect me to kill him?" Absinthe asked. "March into the hospital and go on a rampage? That'll not only expose me but I'll potential get captured or even killed,"

"It was too easy retrieving the both of you, especially you Absinthe," Gin responded. "So you both are to kill the FBI's trump card, Akai Shuichi, and prove your innocence to us. And to answer your question, Absinthe, the two of you will lure him into our firing range. Kir will call him out, telling him that it was troublesome for the both of you since you both been caught by the FBI. Request help to leave the organization by escaping to a foreign country and in return, offer good information,"

"Then when he comes, you guys'll surround him and shoot him, right?" Kir questioned.

"Whoever is the faster gunslinger will be the one to shoot," Gin answered. "He has a surprisingly good nose. If he notices our presence he'll discover the trap and return back. We'll be watching how things happen through a bug and camera on you two from a long distance where his bullets can't reach us,"

"Okay," Kir agreed. "I will do as you said. Can you give me some time?"

"No," Gin held up his gun once again. "Call him right now, at this very place! If you can't do it, then you'll be calling your own death!"

_ 'Wait a fucking moment,' _Absinthe realized_. 'How the fuck does Kir have Nalabaga's number!? Seriously, had the crows known all along what his number was!? I'm surprised no one tried to prank call him,'_

"Y-You never considered that I might be deceived by the FBI, have you?" Kir stuttered.

"That's possible, but according to the information our fellow got, the FBI are still staying in that hospital for a bit longer. For some reason, one agent got involved in a case and the FBI's eyes are focusing on him right now," Gin told them. "We can't miss this chance,"

Kir took out her phone and dialed Akai's number, putting it on speaker for Gin to hear to prove that there were no tricks. _'We never took into account that Absinthe would also be ordered to kill Akai! This is going to screw up the plan! Akai won't be able to fake his death! Maybe…maybe I can speak to Absinthe in private to have him agree? But there are bugs all over me and probably Absinthe too. They'd overhear us,'_

_"Yes?"_

"It's me," Kir said. "It's Mizunashi Rena. Can we talk? Is there anybody around?"

_ "Yeah we can talk. I'm alone,"_

"You're surprised, right? That you got a call this quickly from me after I returned back to the org—"

_"Explain what you mean,"_

"Actually, it's become difficult for both Absinthe and I to stay here. We…we both want to run away to another country to leave the organization,"

_ "Absinthe is known as Leo Vineyard, an American celebrity,"_

"Some makeup and fake documents will help me blend into normal civilian society," Absinthe spoke up. "Plus, I'm an _amazing _actor. I can play any role,"

"O-Of course we'll offer information to the FBI," Kir continued. "I wonder if we could meet in private now?"

_ "As long as the two of you are alone, then there's no problem,"_

"Okay then, I'll send you the time and place by mail later,"

XXX

The meeting time was at seven o'clock at night on the seventh curve of Raiha Pass. Absinthe rode with Kir to the location. Akai came from the opposite direction and parked against the guard rail. "What's the problem?" Absinthe asked. "You came from the other side,"

"I got here ahead of you guys to scout out the area," Akai stated. "It looks like you both came alone as ordered,"

Kir was the faster one and shot Akai in the lung. Akai's eyes widened and blood started dripping from his mouth. He leaned against his truck and put a hand to his chest. He glanced across and noticed a Porsche 356A. _'Hmph, to think you came this far to get me…'_

_ "Absinthe, finish him off with a headshot,"_

"But he'll die in less than thirty minutes even if we leave him here," Kir tried to reason. "I just shot him in the lung after all,"

_ "A bullet to the head will make sure that his life will come to an end. Absinthe will pull the trigger,"_

Absinthe walked over to the Silver Bullet and held the gun about an inch away from Akai's forehead. _"Blank," _He mouthed clearly for Akai to see. His back was to Kir so she and the camera couldn't see his mouth's movements.

_'So he's also firing blanks. That's a relief. I didn't look forward to actually dying since the original plan didn't include Absinthe,' _Akai smirked. "To think that you went this far,"

Absinthe fired a single blank bullet. Akai detonated the blood packet and fell backwards into his truck's seats. Police sirens were heard while Kir and Absinthe were setting up the plastic explosives. They then proceeded to leave the crime scene while Akai managed to escape his truck just before it exploded.

* * *

**Senichi actually remembers a lot of cases very clearly because in order to keep his sanity throughout his childhood as well as in Mad Dog Arena and in the organization, he constantly replayed his memories of the anime and manga in his mind.**

**Velgamidragon:  
But I want to try to help! Especially since you **_**are **_**revising this story. Ironic that the American is telling the Englishman he needs to watch more world news since in my experience, it's usually the opposite. And holy shit, they weren't just kidnapped like Senichi but intentionally sold off and by their own dad no less?! Well damn! Ooh, I just had an idea; can I write a short snippet based on that ending scene and send it to you via the PM system?**

**Skai:  
I'm not sure if it's common for Englishmen to tell Americans to watch more world news since I've never met anyone from England. I actually mentioned Hans Klein selling his own children in Chapter 10:  
**"One day, our father announced out of nowhere that we'd be going on a trip to England. Honestly, I was reluctant to believe him but we really did travel here. But…a few days later…we were kidnapped. I'm not sure about what happened to Mutti,"  
_'Judging by the timeframe and the way their father treats his kin, the bastards sold his own children!' _Rage filled Senichi's tired body.  
**I read your snippet and I love it. It's really good and well-written.**


	37. Mokubaso

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XVI  
Mokubaso  
Warnings: None**

After a couple weeks, Absinthe and Kir were no longer bugged and no longer under surveillance. Since someone like Gin was convinced that Akai was dead, not many agents thought that the Silver Bullet could have somehow escaped death. One of the few exceptions was Bourbon. However, Bourbon's suspicions did not bother Absinthe at all since everything would most likely go according to canon.

One day, Absinthe was approached by Gin who had somehow entered Absinthe's apartment without a key. "Your name is Akai Senichi,"

"Yes?" Absinthe acted like he wasn't surprised. "And you're Brendan Klein? I don't see what's the big deal. We introduced ourselves to each other when we first met," _'Is he still doubting my allegiance?'_

"Your name is _Akai _Senichi," Gin repeated. "Answer me honestly. Are you related to Akai Shuichi?"

_'Lying will get me ending up with a bullet to the brain,' _"He's my older twin brother," Absinthe admitted. "But make no mistake, Gin. I do not care about my blood relations,"

"And why should I believe those words?"

"Because he obviously never cared about me," Absinthe replied. "Did he recognize me when he joined the organization? No. Granted, my appearance did change since he and I last saw each other, but we have similar facial and body structures so he should've recognized me. If he truly cared about me, then he would've been desperate to get me out and 'free me of the organization's brainwash.' I mean nothing to him and he means nothing to me,"

"Didn't you want to one day reunite with your family?"

"That was long ago, back when we were in Mad Dog Arena," Absinthe pointed out. "Back when I foolishly held the hope that they would find us. Jenever was the one rescued us. The reason you brought this up is because you are suspecting me of betrayal. My loyalty is to the organization. It is the only way I can repay them for removing us from that awful situation, for giving us medical treatment, for providing us food, for training us, for giving up a chance to live once again,"

The two didn't break eye contact for a couple seconds. "I see," Gin finally spoke. "Of course you wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you,"

"I've already proven that I am loyal to the organization rather than my blood family twice already," Absinthe added. "Last year in England, Vermouth had me dress up as my father to lure my mother out. We were successful and Akai Mary was forced to ingest APTX 4869. And now just a few weeks ago, I was the one who fired the killing shot at my own twin. Is that not enough proof of my loyalty?"

XXX

Leo had started renting a secondary apartment at Mokubaso at Beika City, District 3, #23. At his apartment there, he would store his anime and manga stuff as well as use the bedroom as a studio to write and record songs whether it be actual original songs or Detective Conan openings and endings from the Real World. He tended to go there during his days off or whenever he completed his work for the day and wasn't completely exhausted.

Most of the time, he managed to avoid the other residents. He arrived one morning and encountered Okiya Subaru who was watering the plants. The two was silent for the first few moments before Subaru broke the silence. "Hello. I'm Okiya Subaru. You must be the resident that comes here from time to time,"

"Leo Vineyard," He shook the offered hand. "And yes I am. Do you like gardening?"

"I'm not much of a gardener but I noticed that these plants don't get enough water," Subaru replied. "Since I tend to wake up early, I took it upon myself to water them every morning. Would you like to chat over some coffee?"

"That sounds great," Senichiyawned. "I'm quite knackered from staying up last night," _'Oops, my British side is showing a bit,'_

Once Subaru finished watering the garden, they headed up to the man's apartment. Subaru set the kettle on the stove and within a few minutes, two cups of coffee were ready. "Would you like any creamer, milk, or sugar?"

"I think I'll go straight black today," Senichitook a sip of the coffee. "Napudot!" He fanned his tongue with his hand.

"Of course it's hot," Subaru chuckled.

Senichimanaged to cool down his tongue. "You're lucky that I had a few blank bullets on me,"

"So you recognize me?" Subaru opened his eyes. "Did Kir inform you of the plan?"

"Nope," Senichisaid. "But what did you want me to do? Actually shoot you with real bullets? And of course I recognize you. You're my brother,"

"But I wasn't able to recognize you," Subaru pointed out sadly. "As Leo Vineyard, you were famous yet I didn't recognize you. While in the organization, I sometimes stayed by your side yet I didn't recognize you. But you were able to recognize me at first sight _and _I'm in full disguise,"

_'He's feeling guilty,' _Now Senichiwas the one feeling guilty too. _'I recognize him because his identity was revealing in the anime and manga,' _"It's not like you could ever imagine me enjoying life as a celebrity while deciding to forget about my family in England," He let out a loud exhale. "I'm sorry about those things I yelled at you back at the hospital,"

"It's fine," Subaru assured him. "You weren't telling your true feelings,"

"I can't allow the Absinthe part of me to have emotions," Senichitold him. "Emotions only distract me and could cost me a mission. I don't want to die,"

"I don't want you to die either," Subaru nodded.

"I'm trying my best to distance myself from everyone so Absinthe could just be a shell that fulfills the organization's orders, just like I was before you infiltrated the organization,"

"Absinthe may be a shell but _Leo _isn't," Subaru responded. "Leo was friends with Akemi and Shiho. He has emotions. He has compassion and empathy. And Senichi is filled with emotions too. You're just hurting and had no one to turn to in the organization,"

XXX

It was late at night when Leo started smelling smoke. He heard loud banging at the front door and opened it. Sugiura Kaito, the landlord's son, stood there crying. "L-Leo-san! M-My dad won't get up a-and there's a fire!"

_'A fire!?' _Leo scooped Kaito into his arms and made his way downstairs where Sugiura laid unconscious. Leo shifted Kaito into his left arm and carried the boy's father with his right. He started to careful head to the exit but the flames were spreading fast. As he was making his way to the exit, a large chunk of debris fell. Leo barely had enough time to toss Kaito and Sugiura away as the large chunk of wood collided with Leo's back.

"AHHH!" Leo screamed as he felt the heat of the flames easily eat away at his shirt and start to devour his back.

Fire. He hated fire. Fire was what killed his parents. Fire was what killed him. Fire was what etched J4 into his shoulder. And now, fire was what caused the wooden slab to trap Leo down, surrounded by flames. Fire only brought bad luck to his life. You'd think that after years of being in the organization, he would've gotten over his fear of fire, right? He didn't fear the fires that _he _started because _he _had control and could escape easily. But the fire that currently blazed around him had not been started by him.

"Leo-san!" Kaito cried out.

_'I can't die…' _Leo's muscles grew bigger as he activated his polar bear DNA. His strength increased and he managed to escape from the wooden beam and limped outside where the firefighters and ambulances were just arriving.

XXX

"My, my, to think that you'd play hero," Vermouth mused when she visited Leo in the hospital.

"The kid was the one who approached me," Leo claimed. "It'd look bad if a famous American singer let a kid and his father die just to save my own skin,"

"Heroism runs in your family I suppose," Vermouth commented. "Your parents were MI6 Agents and your twin brother was an FBI Agent,"

"I'm no hero," Leo laughed. "You know that too. Blood doesn't matter to me, not after they abandoned me," _'I hate saying these words over and over again. It makes me fear that it might eventually become true,'_

"The police will be coming over in a bit to ask you some questions," Vermouth informed. "I'm sure that the kid and his parents will also stop by to thank you,"

"Did the doctors question any of my scars?" Leo asked worriedly.

"I told them that you were in a car accident when you were younger," Vermouth answered. "I'm sure that's enough to satisfy their questions,"

XXX

"What? You saw Akai Shuichi?"

"Remember, there was a robbery case at the Teito Bank in Beika District?" Vodka brought up during a car ride. "They were announcing on the news that the trial for the case started yesterday and they showed a video of the case where a man who looked like him appeared in it. But I suppose the resemblance was just a coincidence since we saw his death with our own eyes in Raiha Pass. With a headshot from Absinthe's gun, there's no way he could still be alive,"

"Call Kir," Gin ordered darkly. "First it was Haido City Hotel where Sherry showed up. Then it was at Mouri Detective Agency in Beika District where Akai sniped us. Kir and Absinthe were kept at Haido Central Hospital. And now, a man resembling Akai showed up at a bank in the Beika District…Haido and Beika are but a stone's throw from one another. You really think that's a mere coincidence?"

"It isn't," Absinthe said from the back seat. "Vermouth disguised Awan as Scar Nalabaga and appearing in front of Nalabaga's friends to gage their reaction. Awan doesn't believe that Nalabaga really did die,"

Gin narrowed his eyes. "Did they get permission from _that_ person?"

"Probably, pretty sure they did," Absinthe shrugged. "I mean, the boss is very cautious. Besides, if it were really Nalabaga, why would he go out into the open like that?"

"I'll double check with the boss," Gin said. "But if I find out you're lying…"

"Gin," Absinthe reminded. "My loyalty is to the organization. If he were the real Akai Shuichi, how the fuck does a person survive a bullet to the lung _and _a bullet to the head _and _an explosion? Think logically, Gin. You _saw _him die. You saw Kir and I kill him,"

* * *

**GabrielRavier:  
****One of the worst written scenes ? If that's supposed to be the worst, then I can't wait to see the best.****  
****Btw, this looks like it could end up with some interesting discussions, what with the circumstances surrounding the events at Raiha Pass in this fic, especially considering Senichi's involvement with the second shot (I wonder if some people in-universe will just assume he went along with the plan rather than knowing all along, considering he wasn't supposed to know about it, though him detecting that the first shot was fake in the first place might be suspicious).**

**Skai:  
I think the best written scenes is somewhere in the already posted chapters. The quality only goes down if you continue reading this version, hence why I'm working on a rewrite. Just a warning: the final battle is **_**very **_**disappointing. If Gin does find out that Senichi is a traitor, he'd treat him like any other member. I mean, GinSherry is canon in this fic but he was still willing to try to kill her in Reunion with the Black Organization. **

**Velgamidragon:  
****Since I saw the warning at the top, I was careful going through this chapter to see if I could figure out which scene you were referring to, but I couldn't. There was some dialogue that felt off though, like when Absinthe was trying to get away from Akai and said that his brother abandoned and gave up on him. My first thought was a very confused "What? When? Why's he saying that?" If it was referring to the Mad Dog Arena, that wasn't Akai's fault; Senichi was freaking kidnapped and Shuichi himself was just a kid. If it was about Shuichi's infiltration into the Organization and then leaving after that, then (I don't remember which you used) either Senichi never told Shuichi who he was or Shuichi did find out beforehand, but Senichi was insistent on staying with the Organization. In either case, Akai still didn't "abandon" him, and there's not enough context in the dialogue for it to be obvious to the reader if Senichi is lying just to try and get away from Akai or if he's being sincere. And if Senichi /is/ being sincere, then the previous established text doesn't currently support this mentality.  
Oh, you mentioned it that early on? I completely forgot; I didn't think it was something I needed to remember.  
What can I say, I was inspired. :) I've had a few other ideas for snippets inspired by this work, but that one just came together the quickest and most readily.**

**Skai:  
The hospital escape scene was the scene I was warning about. I've written "MC easily escapes hospital without being properly explained how he was able to find normal clothes and walk out without being caught" at least three times: **_**Mitsuharu, Mitsuharu Shorts and What-Ifs, **_**and now **_**Fade to Darkness. **_**That scene stems from the fact that I'm too lazy to write a proper hospital escape and that I don't know how to write one.  
The dialogue between Akai and Absinthe is Absinthe wanting to push everyone away but at the same time needing a big hug. Also, it's a slight mental breakdown moment. His mask is breaking and he's trying to repair it.**


	38. Nightmare

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XVII  
Nightmare  
Warnings: None**

Many months passed. Daily life was a mere routine. Absinthe successfully carried out missions. When needed, Leo would go out and restock on supplies. At night, if they weren't exhausted, there would be an amount of time where Senichi could take over. Senichi was allowed to cry out his frustrations and sorrows. He was allowed to indulge in his favorite past times of anime and manga. He was allowed to be free just for that time frame.

Then came the faithful night when Curacao had been ordered to retrieve a list of NOCs from the PSB headquarters. Absinthe hadn't even realized _Darkest Nightmare_ had begun on until Vermouth dragged him to locate Curacao. They found her jacket with several shards of glass. Vermouth thrusted it in his direction. "Track down her scent,"

_'Curacao's amnesiac at the moment,' _Absinthe thought. _'Currently she's all the way in Touto Aquarium. If I can somehow avoid that place as much as possible…' _He grabbed the garment and enhanced his olfactory system, inhaling Curacao's scent deeply. He immediately gagged from the additional scent. "The smell of gasoline is strong! It's overwhelming Curacao's!"

"Then follow the scent trail of gasoline," Vermouth ordered.

"It's hard to distinguish one specific gasoline trail when there are several cars with the same type of gasoline all over this area," Absinthe grumbled. "I'd like to see you try tracking. It's harder than you think. Why do you think dogs have to be _trained?_ I know drug detection dogs can take around two to three months to train,"

Vermouth walked further down the alley until she came to the ocean. She pointed across to Touto Aquarium. "Will you be able to distinguish her scent trail over there?"

"Possibly," Absinthe replied. "But I'm not entirely sure. There are way too many other scents. There's the smell of food and other people as well as other things. This is why I don't typically use my nose to track down these people. I use the more traditional ways of tracking down targets like Gin," _'Also because I don't want to deal with the side effects of using my animal attributes,'_

"We're still going to Touto Aquarium," Vermouth told him. "There's a chance that she's actually there,"

"Fine, fine," Absinthe agreed. _'I need to stall long enough for Conan to encounter Curacao. In the movie, after she regained her memories she tried to escape. Maybe…just maybe…she'll revert to her old self. Curacao will revert to Harimanna. But the thing that worries me most is Gin. It was never confirmed in canon that the two were related. Will Gin order her death? There's a part of Brendan still left in him. He _can't _kill Harimanna,'_

XXX

Conan caught a whiff of the scent of gasoline and noticed the silver haired woman sitting on a bench. Haibara tensed up at the sight of her. "Edogawa-kun—"

Conan approached the woman. "Are you alright, Oneesan? You're wounded. Oh, you have heterochromia, it's rare!"

_ 'She's acting odd,' _Haibara noticed and cautiously approached her too. _'No reaction? She doesn't recognize me?' _"What happened to you?"

"You seem to be alone but your knees and hands are hurt," Conan noted. "May I see your cell phone?"

"Yes," Curacao agreed.

_ 'She's willingly letting him see his cell phone!?' _Haibara exclaimed. _'What's wrong with her?' _"How long have you been here? Where did you come from?"

Curacao shook her head. "I have no idea,"

"What's your name?" Haibara asked.

"My…name?" Curacao closed her eyes. "Sorry, I have no idea,"

_'She's not lying,' _Haibara realized. _'She's genuinely confused,' _"Show me your head please," She inspected the injuries on the woman's face. "It's not a fatal wound, but it's deep. You also have some bruises here and there,"

"She must have hit her head with an old car," He picked up a shard of glass. "There are some windshield splinters, but the recent designs have a protective coat against the splinters. The car was blue and the splinters are recent, so she was the driver or passenger. She also reeks of gasoline,"

"Amnesia," Haibara concluded. "She doesn't remember anything," _'At least this means she can't report my location to the organization,'_

"Do you have anything else with you?" Conan inquired and was passed a set of colored cards.

"Conan, Haibara!" Genta called as he and the others ran towards them. "We've got the tickets!"

"It seems that this woman has lost her memory because of an accident," Haibara informed. "I think we should call the cops," _'It'll be safer for the kids if she were not with us. The organization is definitely looking for her,'_

"No!" Curacao immediately blurted out.

_'So she retains at least some instinct of avoiding the police,' _Haibara narrowed her eyes. "Is it a problem if we call the police?"

"I don't know," She shook her head. "But I don't want the police. I don't know why, but I don't want them,"

Conan took a photo and Curacao attempted to flee. "Wait Oneesan! We're not going to call the police! We're just going to look for an acquaintance of yours and we needed a picture,"

Haibara grabbed Conan's wrist. "Kudo-kun…don't," She whispered. _'Don't get the Mouri's involved!'_

"In the name of the Detective Boys, we are going to help you look for your friends and help you regain your memories!" The three real kids declared. "Let's start off by trying to find someone she knows,"

"But how are you going to do that?" Professor Agasa questioned.

"It's obvious, professor," Genta responded. "We're going to look around," The kids started dragging the woman along with them.

Once they were gone, Conan turned to Haibara. "What's wrong? I'm not going to call the police but I'll see if Ojisan is willing to take on the case," He sent the photo to him.

"That woman is a member of the organization," Haibara revealed. "Codenamed Curacao,"

Conan's eyes widened. "What!? Are you sure!?"

"Yes," Haibara nodded. "She's Gin's twin sister and also Rum's right hand. I don't want the Mouri's to get involved,"

"I…I already sent it," Conan sweat-dropped. "But it seems that she actually lost her memories," He looked in the direction of where the kids had gone. "But if she's someone that important, then the organization is definitely going to be looking for her,"

XXX

Vermouth and Absinthe were at a restaurant. Vermouth had set up her tablet and camera. She scanned the area with the camera and used the organization's program to identify the faces. One of the faces that came up was Curacao. "She really is at Touto Aquarium,"

"Indeed she is," Absinthe nodded. "That will definitely narrow it down. Rather than the entire city we just have to search here," He took his binoculars and immediately found Curacao. _'She's with the Detective Boys,'_

"I found her, Gin," Vermouth reported.

_ "Where?"_

"Touto Aquarium,"

_"The aquarium?"_

"Yes," Vermouth nodded. "Don't worry, Absinthe and I will bring your dear sister back right away,"

"Why is she hiding at the aquarium?" Absinthe asked though he knew the answer. "Why doesn't she make any attempt to return to the organization?"

"To throw any investigating officers off her trail," Vermouth replied. "They wouldn't think that the cause of the pile-up last night would be hidden amongst the crowd,"

XXX

"Do you sense any organization members?" Conan asked Haibara.

"It doesn't work with all members, just those that I know and those that have a dark aura," Haibara answered. "Besides, there are too many people here. For all we know, some members could be in disguise,"

"Curacao is definitely easily recognized with her long silver hair," Conan added. "They'll find her in no time," They noticed the kids had brought her to the darts game stall. "She scored a perfect score,"

"Muscle memory," Haibara said. "She's Rum's right hand man. It's only natural for her to have such great aim, even if she is amnesiac,"

"But I don't think there's much harm in letting her stay around the kids," Conan said. "It doesn't look like she'll hurt them," The two shrunken teens walked over to the others. "What are you guys doing? Her memory isn't going to come back like this. Let her rest a bit,"

"Hey!" Professor Agasa called down to them. "The line to the giant Ferris wheel is short. Now's our chance to ride it,"

"Let's go then," Ayumi said.

"She might be able to remember something," Mitsuhiko agreed and the kids once again dragged her off.

"I doubt she'd be able to recall her memories from anything in this park," Conan said. "There's nothing resembling the Black Organization here," _'If she does recall her memories, we can gather information about the organization,'_

XXX

"There she is," Absinthe and Vermouth walked over to where Curacao was standing in line with the kids and leaned on the opposite side of the railing.

"What are you doing?" Vermouth asked Curacao. "We're heading back," She started walking away and Absinthe followed.

"Oneesan, you're going to lose your place!" Ayumi called.

Curacao hurried to catch up to them. "Sorry, I thought that someone was talking to me,"

"Someone you know?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"No, she must've been talking to that man next to her," Curacao shook her head.

"She didn't recognize us," Absinthe noted.

"Something's wrong," Vermouth informed Gin. "She seems amnesiac,"

_"Hurry up and make sure she remembers everything!"_

"Understood," They started walking away.

Curacao glanced back down at the two figures, specifically at the man._ 'I…I feel they're familiar but they couldn't have been talking to me, right? They would've called out my name or try to get my attention more,' _She took a deep breath and unconsciously enhanced her olfactory senses. A tiger's sense of smell was not used much in hunting. _'This scent…it's so familiar…' _She put a hand to her head. _'Sen…ichi…Who is Senichi?'_

XXX

After the accident where Genta fell but Curacao rescued him, the kids snuck away from Professor Agasa and Conan to ride the Ferris wheel with Curacao. When she saw the overlapping colored lights, she let out a cry of pain and collapsed into a seat while mumbling names. "Senichi…Ahren...Brendan…" _'Those people…who are they!?' _She let out a scream. "Kir…Bourbon…Stout…Aquavit…Riesling…" _'Do I know these people too? They don't have the same feel as the previous three! I feel like…they're __**enemies!**__' _"Argh!" _'Enemies…of whom?'_

While Mitsuhiko wrote down some of the names he heard, Ayumi called Conan. "Answer…please!"

_ "What's wrong?"_

"Conan-kun, help!"

_ "Ayumi, what's going on?"_

"I don't know why but the lady's in pain!"

_ "What do you mean? What's she doing?"_

"Her head hurts and she's saying some weird things! I don't understand what's she saying!"

"I've written them down," Mitsuhiko told her.

"Mitsuhiko-kun wrote them," Ayumi relayed. "Conan-kun, come and help us!"

XXX

_ "It turns out that the car accident really did cause her to lose her memories,"_

"So?" Gin asked. "Where is she?"

_"At a police hospital,"_

"The police shouldn't be guarding her. To them, she's just a random woman with a case of amnesia,"

_ "She did manage to get a handful of spy names from police headquarters. Where are you anyway?"_

"Berlin,"

_ "Ah, back in your home country I see. Hurry up and get back here. Maybe seeing your face will jog your twin's memory,"_

"Deal with Suzuki's infrastructure," Gin ended the call and looked at his email. "A list of spies…"_ 'Stout, Aquavit, Riesling are confirmed to be spies. It seems like she didn't finish her sentence about Kir and Bourbon but they're probably on the list too,' _

"Gin, the mission's complete," Riesling told him.

Gin pointed his Beretta M9 towards her. "Your name is on the list of NOCs,"

"W-What?" Riesling stuttered. "That's impossible! I'm not a spy!" She knew that Gin wasn't going to listen to her and fled.

Gin and Vodka were quick to follow and cornered her. "Where do you think you're going?" Vodka asked. "You have one minute to explain yourself,"

"I told you, I'm not a spy!" Riesling denied.

"Stop joking around," Gin said. "We can smell the scent of a spy, Riesling! We've recently received information about you. Your name is on the list of our spies,"

"Let's kill her now," Vodka glanced at his watch. "We're wasting time,"

"Let me go!" Riesling demanded. "I'm telling you that I'm not a spy! Gin, you can trust me!"

"Trust you?" Gin smirked. "I'm not an idiot to do something like that," Riesling saw that she had no escape and attempted to dive into the Spree. Gin fired a single shot and nailed her in the head. "Let's get going to Japan. There are two more rats to deal with,"

XXX

Conan met up with the FBI. "The English MI6, the Canadian SCRS, and the German BND confirmed that their spies were assassinated," James informed. "The syndicate got a list of spies and took care of them,"

"They must have known about that thanks to the PSB's list," Camel added. "We need to tell Akai-san,"

James' cell phone rang and he answered it. "Hello?"

_ "Is this James Black?"_

"Yes, who is this?" James asked.

_ "If there are any other agents with you, please put me on speaker,"_

James did so. "You're on speaker. I have two other agents with me. Who are you?"

_ "My name is Akai Tsutomu. I'm Shuu-chan's father. I got your phone number from him. He seems to be busy with preparations for something so I decided to contact other FBI Agents,"_

"Why?" Jodie asked.

_"Stay away from the Ferris wheel! The organization planted bombs there!"_

"What!?"

_"I'm in Japan at the moment. My coworkers and I plan on disabling the bombs, so don't worry about them,"_

"Where did you get this information from?" Conan asked.

_ "A little kid is with the FBI? Oh, you must be Holmes' Apprentice! I got this info from the Scarlet Crow. You can call me and my friends the Crimson Robins. Ah, we gotta get going now. Bye!"_

"Is he a reliable source?" Conan questioned. "He seems suspicious,"

"The Scarlet Crow is Absinthe," Jodie revealed. "If Absinthe was the one who informed him of all this, then I trust him," _'Senichi and Shuu both said that their family hailed from England. Crimson is a shade of red (Akai) and the national bird for Britain is the robin,'_

"There were three other names that Curacao mentioned too but they weren't alcohols," Conan added. "Senichi, Ahren, Brendan,"

"Senichi is Absinthe's real name," Jodie informed. "I'm not entirely sure about who Ahren and Brendan are,"

"I'm giving Curacao's phone over to Professor Agasa to see if he's able to get it operating," Conan said. "She won't be able to get in contact with them even if she does regain her memory. What information did she steal?"

"A list of undercover spies from various intelligence agencies," Jodie answered. "The spies are currently infiltrating the syndicate right now,"

"We can't let them get it," Conan stated. "Or else Kir and Bourbon…"

"Not only that," James added. "It also contains information about their agency. It will become even more difficult for them to disappear from the syndicate's eyes and escape assassination. These three assassinations are just the beginning of the nightmare,"

* * *

**So I'm changing some things up a bit for **_**Darkest Nightmare. **_**Tsutomu and his Crimson Robins will play a role. **

**The revamped version of this fic will be titled **_**Scar(red)let Crow **_**and will have some MAJOR changes. Yes, the title is weird. It's supposed to be able to be read as Scarred Crow or Scarlet Crow. I read it as Scarredlet Crow.  
Spoiler Cipher: Ipzmv qa vwb oqdmv i jtiks zwam qv bpm amkwvl izk.**

**Velgamidragon:  
Mm, my favorite scene in this chapter was the one with Akai and Senichi! The dialogue was so fluid, smooth, and natural, and it made me feel so warm and fuzzy reading their words compounded with their emotions and reactions. The dialogue between Gin and Senichi in both scenes was also pretty solid too; Akai and Senichi's scene just gets first place :)**

**Skai:  
I'm glad you liked it.**


	39. Albtraum

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XVIII  
Albtraum  
Warnings: Yet Another Terribly Written Scene**

"Kohji, are you sure you want to participate?" Tsutomu asked, quickly reviewing the few lines of text that he had received from Senichi regarding _Darkest Nightmare_. "This is a very dangerous mission,"

"I'm not going to stand back and do nothing," Kohji told him. "But couldn't you have chosen a less conspicuous name than Crimson Robins?"

"It matches the red theme," Tsutomu claimed. "Akai Family, Scarlet Crow, Crimson Robins,"

"And our codenames?" Kohji pointed out.

"I'm Vermillion, you're Carmine," Tsutomu said. "The others are Cherry, Candy Apple, Ruby, and Strawberry. We're all shades of red,"

_'It's a miracle that the organization hasn't found out about us and connected us to Shuu and Sen yet,' _Kohji sweat-dropped. "We've already got our tickets. We also have costumes to disguise ourselves once we get inside,"

"We'll blend right in," Tsutomu assured him.

"Our costumes look like rip-off Power Rangers suits," Kohji commented.

"They resemble robins," Tsutomu pouted. "I'll have you know that they're custom made to be actually bulletproof and shock resistant. The visor has telescopic and night vision features. We also have devices to help us with our mission such as smoke bombs and sleeping gas. We of course have our guns and knives. I took inspiration from Kaito Kid and made our capes into hang gliders and shaped it to kinda resemble bird wings,"

"Akai-san," Cherry addressed the leader. "We'll be disguised as robins because that's the symbol of our group but there's a problem. The mascot of Touto Aquarium is a dolphin,"

"No problem," Tsutomu grinned. "We'll just tell everyone that it's for a VidTube video and they'll leave us alone and probably think we're weirdos,"

"Why?" Strawberry groaned. "Just why are we following _this _guy?"

"Because he's serious when the situation calls for it," Kohji responded.

XXX

"We are here because of that NOC list, right?" Bourbon and Kir were both handcuffed in a warehouse.

"Curacao saw your name on the list," Gin said as the lights turned on dramatically. "You know perfectly well why you're here,"

"Curacao? The agent who's close to Rum?" Bourbon asked.

"Yes," Kir answered. "She's our specialist in information collecting,"

"I keep telling you that your information isn't true!" Bourbon denied.

"Killing us would be a great mistake," Kir added. "Curacao's information is wrong,"

"She stole it straight from PSB headquarters and sent the email just minutes after escaping," Absinthe pointed out. "It's a hundred percent correct,"

"Didn't I prove my loyalty by killing Akai?" Kir reminded. "If I'm suspected as a NOC, then shouldn't Absinthe be a suspect too?"

"Absinthe would have no opportunity to join any intelligence agency," Gin pointed out. "Joining an intelligence agency would take a while and the organization would've surely noticed,"

"Trying to shift the suspicions onto me?" Absinthe mocked. "That's only making you look even guiltier,"

"Bring Curacao out and have her confirm the information!" Bourbon demanded. "That's why you didn't kill us immediately, right? Because you're still unsure,"

"That's exactly like you, Bourbon," Gin sat down on a crate and lit a cigarette.

"Luckily for you, we don't have that list right now," Vermouth said. "She retrieved the list but escaped the police,"

"Then recover Curacao and make her confirm that our names are absent from the list," Kir urged as she tried to undo her handcuffs. "If you kill us and our names are not on there, you'd have made a huge mistake!"

"That's right," Gin stood up. "However," He pointed his Beretta at them. "Mistake or not, it's up to me to confirm it. It's about time to get rid of these vermin. We'll reunite in Hell," He stomped on his cigarette to extinguish it. He then fired a shot into Kir's shoulder, forcing her to drop the bobby pin she was using to pick her handcuffs. "What is it, Kir? Do you have something to say?"

"We told you already!" Bourbon repeated. "We're your allies!"

"Don't waste your time," Gin responded. "I know that you aren't. I'm giving you one minute, your last chance to prove your innocence. Rats are a nuisance. Vodka, the countdown,"

"Understood," Vodka looked down at his watch. "Sixty,"

Gin continued to ignore the two's please. When the countdown reached zero, a gunshot from elsewhere caused a ceiling light to fall and knocked the light over. Vermouth shone her phone flashlight towards the prisoners and revealed that Bourbon had escaped. The door was kicked open. "Find him!" Vodka rushed out to chase after who they thought was Bourbon.

Absinthe took a slight whiff of the air, catching the scent of his brother. _'Shuichi, I'm glad you still made it just in time,'_

"Don't kill Kir!" Vermouth stopped Gin. "It's Rum's orders. He received an email from Curacao. They had nothing to do with the NOC list,"

"She recovered her memory?" Gin asked.

"We told you that we're victims of a conspiracy!" Kir said calmly. "Why don't you remove the handcuffs already?"

"No," Vermouth refused. "It's a direct order from Rum. We must find Curacao to confirm if the email was really sent by her. She must still be in the police hospital, but under protection,"

"You're absolutely sure of this?" Gin took out his own cell phone. "She's certainly our ally, but it seems that she's on the move,"

"Of course she's our ally," Absinthe couldn't stop himself from blurting out. "She wouldn't betray the organization. You _know _that more than anyone, Gin,"

XXX

It was at night time that the Crimson Robins acted. They snuck into the structures between the two Ferris wheels and started searching for the bombs. They had to search carefully in order not to miss any. "Holmes' Apprentice!?" Vermillion exclaimed when the boy arrived. "I told you to stay away from the Ferris wheel!"

"Let me help!" Conan shouted. "It'll be faster if there's more of us!" He looked around and noted some of the bombs. "Have you seen Akai-san?" _'Haibara said that Curacao is Gin's sister, yet he's actually willing to kill her!'_

"I think I saw two people fighting on top of the Ferris wheel," Candy Apple recalled.

At that moment, both Akai and Rei fell down but continued their fight. "Stop fighting!" Carmine shouted and attempted to get in between them.

"Who are you!?" Rei demanded.

"I'm Carmine, a member of the Crimson Robins," Carmine introduced. "Right now there are bombs all over this place. Cease your fighting so that we can locate and disable them!"

"Crimson Robins?" Akai gave him a confused look.

"Akai-san, Amuro-san!" Conan called. "They don't want to spare Curacao! They're going to bomb the wheel! Help the Crimson Robins locate and disarm them!"

"Not until they prove that they're not with the organization!" Rei refused. "Tell the leader to remove his helmet and state his name! I want to see his face if he's not a member of the organization!"

"Hey asshole!" Vermillion landed beside the group and removed his helmet. "I'm Akai Tsutomu, codename Vermillion. Obviously I'm not with the crows so stop wasting time!"

"Akai!?" Rei turned to the FBI Agent for confirmation.

"He's my father," Akai gaped at his father in disbelief for a few seconds before regaining his composure. "We don't have time to waste. Furuya-kun, can you help disable the bombs?"

"There's a detonator in the hose racks," Conan said after carefully peering inside.

"Yeah," Rei opened the shelf and pulled out the fire hose.

"Akai-san, where are you going?" Conan asked.

"This building is probably not the only one filled with bombs. There could be some on the wheel," Akai kicked over his rifle case. "There's a bomb disarming kit in there," He ran off.

"I'm going to go and protect the NOC list!" Conan yelled before also running off.

"Those two are alike!" Rei sighed.

"Alike?" Tsutomu started coming up with a crazy theory that Conan was actually Shuichi's son. _'Oh my gosh…I'm a grandpa!'_

"Ojisan!" Carmine snapped. "Focus!"

"R-Right!"

XXX

"It's almost time," Vermouth noted from her position at a restaurant. "Curacao will be at the top of the Ferris wheel in three minutes and five seconds,"

"It looks like I'm not needed here," Absinthe said. "I'm gonna go for a walk. My muscles are getting cramped," _'Harimanna…I won't let you die!' _"You don't mind, right Vermouth? All we gotta do is grab her cabin and leave,"

_ 'Absinthe, what are you up to?' _Vermouth eyed her right hand man suspiciously but returned to the task at hand.

XXX

When Curacao saw the overlapping lights, she screamed and gripped her head. _'It hurts! It hurts!'_

_ "Harimanna, Brendan, do you know what your names means?" Ahren asked his younger siblings. "Manna, your name means warrior maiden. Brendan, your name means flame,"_

_ "What about your name, Ahren?" Brendan asked._

_ "It means eagle," Ahren smiled._

_'My name…it's Harimanna…' _Curacao writhed around in pain and pulled at her handcuff. '_Brendan and Ahren are my brothers!'_

_"You can't die!" Brendan yelled. "You can't leave us behind like that!"_

_ "Ahren, don't go!" Harimanna pleaded._

_ "Bren, Manna," Ahren pulled them into a hug. "I'm dying anyway. I'd rather die fighting Senichi than die in this cell. At least when Senichi wins, the rations will increase,"_

_ "We don't care about the rations!" Brendan sobbed. _

_ "We just want our big brother!" Harimanna added._

_ "Senichi will look after you guys in my place," Ahren told them. "I'm sorry,"_

"Argh!" Curacao let out another scream of pain. _'We were in Mad Dog Arena! Ahren…Ahren was killed!'_

_A tall Japanese man came into sight, unfazed by the chaos and destruction around him. He paused and scrutinized the three children for a moment before speaking. _"Do you wish to live?"

"Urgh!" Curacao grimaced. _'Jenever…Jenever rescued us! We joined the organization and became Curacao, Gin, and Absinthe! I'm Rum's right hand man!'_

"Are you alright?" Kazami grabbed her shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself! Don't move. I'm calling an ambulance,"

"It won't be necessary," Curacao stood up and easily knocked Kazami out. She removed her handcuffs and used Kazami's phone to call Vermouth. "It's been a while, Vermouth,"

_ "Like I suspected, you recovered your memory,"_

"Yes, but I've got the feeling that I'm being spied on,"

_ "No problem. Gin is coming to recover you in a helicopter,"_

"Gin?"

_ "Do you remember everything? Did you send an email to Rum? If it wasn't you who sent it…"_

_'My phone…that boy took it!' _Curacao recalled. "Of course I'm the one who sent it. Is there a problem?"

_"Now if you would like, wait for your carriage,"_

"Okay," Curacao watched as a few seconds later, the entire park lost power. She took out the blank dolphin charm that the kids had given her. _'I don't want to return to the organization. I don't want to continue killing. My current life is no different from Mad Dog Arena except that the fighting ring is bigger. Brendan, Senichi, I hope you both realize that too,'_

She opened the top of the cabin and exited. The cool night air blew past her as she maneuvered around the structure. She ended up slipping but immediately used her tiger traits to form claws and dig into the metal and slow her descent. _'I can hear many people here. I need to avoid them!'_

"Are you Curacao?" A Crimson Robin somehow snuck up behind her. "Come with us. We'll help you get away,"

_'I don't know who this guy is!' _Harimanna fought Strawberry instead and managed to knock him out. _'I'm escaping without your help!'_

"What the hell did you do to Strawberry!?" Candy Apple growled. "We're trying to help you!"

"Like I'd believe that!" Curacao charged towards her.

Candy Apple managed to dodge the kick and grabbed her ankle. Harimanna shook her grip off and elbowed Candy Apple in the face. Thankfully, the helmet blocked the attack though cracks did form along the visor. Candy Apple stumbled back from the attack and Harimanna took advantage by delivering several body blows. She wasn't aiming to kill them and only intended to knock them out.

XXX

The organization's helicopter's claw grabbed hold of the cabin at the top of the Ferris wheel. "Let's go," Gin ordered.

"Roger that," Chianti said.

"From 8 o'clock, above the Ferris wheel, something was moving," Korn interrupted.

"Did the PSB Officer run?" Gin asked. "Scan the cabin with the infrared system!"

"Roger," Vodka typed some things into the keyboard and on the screen showed the two forms of Conan and Kazami. "T-The figure inside's male! And there's also a kid there! Aniki, Curacao isn't in it!"

"What?" Gin narrowed his eyes. _'Curacao, what the hell are you doing!? You're supposed to stay in the cabin! Where the hell are you!?' _"Drop the cabin!"

The claw released the cabin and it fell several feet, garnering the attention of the civilians as well as Vermouth. _"Gin, what's going on?"_

"Curacao ran away," Gin spat out, voice filled with anger. "Change of plans. We'll eliminate her!" _'How could you betray us!? How could you betray the organization that saved us, the organization that fed us and clothed us!? How could you betray __**me**__!?'_

_ "You're so impatient! We still don't know if she betrayed us yet!"_

"She left the cabin!" Gin snapped. "Why would she do that except to run?" He turned to Vodka. "Find Curacao immediately!" He turned to Chianti. "Chianti get us away from the Ferris wheel! Korn, aim at the target!"

XXX

"Holmes' Apprentice!" Ruby rushed over to the injured boy. "Good, you're still alive,"

"What about the PSB Officer?" Conan asked.

"He's unconscious but alive," Ruby quickly pulled the man out of the way as the destroyed cabin was starting to fall towards them. "I need to get the two of you away from here!"

"I'm fine!" Conan told her. "Just get the PSB Officer out of here!"

"Vermillion and Carmine trust you," Ruby nodded. "So I will trust you too,"

XXX

"Edogawa-kun!" Haibara called as she snuck into the building. "Edogawa-kun, where are you!?"

"Are you a friend of Holmes' Apprentice?" Vermillion asked. "You need to get away from here. It isn't safe," _'She reminds me of someone,'_

Haibara took a step back. "Are you with the organization?"

"No, I'm Vermillion," He introduced. "Leader of the Crimson Robins. Our enemy is the organization,"

"How do I know you're not lying?" Haibara asked.

Vermillion received a text message. "There are kids trapped in one of the gondolas!? We need to get them out!"

"They're my friends!" Haibara told him. "I need to get to them!"

"You need to get away from here!" Vermillion ordered. "My friends and I will rescue the Detective Boys. Just worry about getting to safety," _'Senichi, you should've told me all of the details of this ordeal in one text, not in chunks!'_

_'The kids are trapped here!?' _Harimanna, who had overheard everything, widened her eyes. _'I need to lure the organization away from them!'_

XXX

"You still haven't found Curacao!?" Gin demanded.

"There are some shadows inside the Ferris wheel," Vodka informed. "There's two kids and some adults! A-Aniki, the adults have gathered most of the bombs! One of the men is near the detonator!"

"So the PSB found out about the bombs?" Gin took out the remote and pushed the button. When nothing exploded, he clicked it several more times before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. _'If we can't use the bombs, then we'll use bullets,' _"Bathe it, Korn, with a rain of bullets!" _'You won't survive this onslaught, Harimanna! I'll make sure you die! That's what happens to traitors! Traitors are eliminated!' _His phone rang and he answered it. "What?"

_ "You're willing to kill your own sister?"_

"All traitors will be eliminated," Gin replied. "You know that, Absinthe,"

_ "I know. I just wanted to see if you were going to chicken out because the target is your own twin sister. If you didn't have the guts, I'd have to take matters into my own hands,"_

"Heh, good to know you haven't gone crazy like Curacao,"

XXX

Senichi ended the call. "How could you kill your own sister?" He sat in the crane Curacao had used in _Darkest Nightmare _to stop the Ferris Wheel. "I don't want Gin…" Tears started to fall. "Why, Brendan? Why did you have to succumb to the darkness? Why didn't you fight it and keep some goodness in your heart? Do we really mean that little to you?"

He let out a strained sob. "It's all because of Mad Dog Arena!" He slammed a fist onto his seat. "If they hadn't kidnapped all four of us…you, Harimanna, and I wouldn't have joined the organization and Ahren would still be alive! We wouldn't have become Gin, Curacao, and Absinthe!" He leaned his head against the control panel. "Ahren…I promised you that I'd protect Brendan and Harimanna…but I can't protect Brendan from himself,"

XXX

Vermillion and Ruby managed to evacuate the Detective Boys and Kazami just as the crows started shooting at the Ferris wheel. Once the crows caught sight of Curacao's silhouette on the screen, they focused their shooting on her. Several bullets hit her as she fell into the sea along with parts of the Ferris wheel's structure.

"Curacao's signal has disappeared," Vodka reported. "Mission complete!"

"No, not yet," Gin said. "We've still got more mice to dispose of! Target the bombs in the axel!"

"The axel?" Vodka questioned.

"Yeah, we feared that Curacao could've used the chaos caused by the collapse of the Ferris wheel to escape but," Gin grinned. "If it's a mere PSB Officer, that'll suffice," _'That traitor's dead! Family means nothing to me! My loyalty is to the organization!' _"Reload the bullets and fire at the axel. Let's finish this before the Air-Force shows up!"

XXX

"Akai-san!" Conan climbed up the debris to the FBI Agent's location.

"Hide!" Akai ordered. "I can still hear the rotors!"

"What about Amuro-san?" Conan asked. "And the Crimson Robins?"

"Don't know," Akai replied. "But if the crows decided to attack with the helicopter, then it must mean that Furuya-kun managed to defuse the bombs,"

"Now we need to figure out how to repel them," Conan said.

"Shuichi! Conan-kun!" Carmine called. "You both still alive?"

"Still in one piece so we're fine," Akai allowed himself a small smile.

"Is that rifle an accessory?" Rei yelled towards Akai. "Don't we have any means to counterattack?"

"There's a way to but my night-vision scope broke," Akai answered. "The only thing I can use is my spare normal scope but this can't bring down that huge steel crow hiding in the darkness. I'd target the rotor's joint,"

"But I couldn't see the joint!" Conan said.

"When it's facing the front, then you can't," Akai stated. "If I could startle them and lighten the rotor area for about five seconds then…"

"I can illuminate the night sky," Conan claimed. "But if we don't know its shape then we can't aim for the rotor area," The helicopter fired several more shots. "No way! They intend to make the axel explode!?"

"They want to send the wheel rolling!" Carmine informed. "Hey Holmes' Apprentice, you only need the overall shape, right?" He grabbed the bag that held the bombs they had collected and threw it outside. He fired several bullets into it, setting them off and causing an explosion.

"I see it!" Conan kicked a fireworks soccer ball at the helicopter.

Akai took aim and fired a single shot, striking the rotary joint.

The helicopter continued to fire at the Ferris wheel, intending to destroy its axel. Carmine grabbed Conan and shielded him from most of the debris. "Shit, the Ferris wheel is rolling!"

XXX

"Harimanna!" Senichi helped pull her out of the water. He deflected a metal pipe that was about to stab her through the abdomen. "Harimanna, are you okay?"

"Senichi," Harimanna coughed up some water she had swallowed.

"The Crimson Robins will be here any moment," Senichi told her. "You're not going back to the organization, okay? I promise you,"

"The organization is no different from Mad Dog Arena," Harimanna said. "We're still forced to kill,"

"I know," Senichi nodded.

"Why can the two of us see that but Brendan can't?" Harimanna asked.

"He enjoys it," Senichi said sadly. "He enjoys killing people because he feels powerful. He no longer feels helpless. The organization corrupted him," He looked up and saw that Conan's soccer ball had started to inflate. "That won't be enough! Harimanna, stay here!" He rushed back over to the crane, grabbing the pipe he had deflected earlier on the way. He drove the crane and crashed it into the side of the Ferris wheel before holding the gas pedal down in place with the pipe and jumping out. _'The kids are safe,' _He hurried back over to Harimanna's location and his blood ran cold when he saw that Vermouth was there.

"I'm surprised that you're still alive, Curacao," Vermouth commented.

"Not Curacao," She spat out while glaring at the woman. "Harimanna,"

"Ah yes, Harimanna Klein," Vermouth addressed her by the woman's real name. "I'm not really surprised that Gin chose the organization over his own sister,"

"I don't blame him," Harimanna refused to die without a fight.

"I'm wondering if Akai Senichi is also a traitor," Vermouth turned to the approaching man. "Absinthe, kill Curacao,"

"I'll kill him first!" Harimanna lunged at him, hands and feet morphed into clawed tiger paws and her mouth became full of sharp teeth.

Absinthe wasted no time in activating his polar bear attributes. _'She's covering for me,' _He barely dodged a swipe at his head. _'She knows that I'll be killed too if Vermouth finds out I'm a traitor,' _He clamped his jaws down hard onto Harimanna's shoulder. _'This is just like in Mad Dog Arena,' _He was thrown back several feet. _'Ahren sacrificed himself,' _He created several gashes along Harimanna's torso. _'Again…I have to kill a friend,' _He managed to pin her down and bit her neck with his teeth, increasing the pressure every second.

"Sen…" Harimanna whispered so softly that only he could hear her voice. "Thank you…for looking after us…"

He crushed her neck completely with a loud, sickening snap. Blood coated his fangs and the inside of his mouth. The crimson fluid dribbled down his chin and he spat out globs of it. He walked over to the sea and attempted to wash the metallic taste out. "Let's get out of here,"

* * *

**I don't really like how the ending turned out. I'm not sure if Curacao will live or die in **_**Scar(red)let Crow. **_

**Velgamidragon:  
Oh wow, the changes are right out the gate with Haibara recognizing Curacao as soon as she saw her before Genta was saved! And the changes make me even more interested in what else will be different and how that will change things both in the context of Darkest Nightmare and from this point onward. Clever on the gasoline smell logically interfering with Absinthe's polar bear abilities (even though he obviously knows where she is anyway due to having seen the movie, it's still a believable in-canon excuse for him to use).**

**Skai:  
I actually liked the idea of Kohji and Tsutomu forming the Crimson Robins and helping out in **_**Darkest Nightmare, **_**but whenever I read over it I can't help but cringe at how I wrote it. I'm not sure if the Crimson Robins will appear in the revamped version but if I can better incorporate them into the story, I'll still include them. It didn't really feel right that the Crimson Robins assisted Conan, Rei, and Akai but the ending is still practically the same as canon with Curacao dead.**


	40. Cracks

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XIX  
Cracks  
Warnings: Slight Mental Breakdown**

When he arrived at his apartment, Senichi immediately took a shower and threw his clothes into the trash. They were too ruined to salvage. If blood was the only problem, he could have just tossed it into the washing machine. However, the fight with Harimanna had caused his clothes to become torn up in several places. It was too much of a hassle to sew and he'd be better off just getting rid of it. It wasn't like he had a shortage of clothes either way.

_ 'He murdered Harimanna!' _Senichi wanted to shriek out loud but knew better than to actually do so. _'How could he do that!? They're twins! They're siblings! So why would he kill Manna!?' _He started attacking his metal training dummy with a furious barrage. _'In the canon universe it was never stated that they were related so I understand why Canon Gin didn't care about her. But in the universe I am currently in, they are actually twins!'_

Senichi fell to his knees. _'If I were in Gin's place and Shuichi were Curacao, I wouldn't have gone through with it! Instead, I would have tried to kill the crows in the helicopter with me! I wouldn't kill my own sibling!' _Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He couldn't hold his sorrow in. _'I had a tiny sliver of hope that there was some part of Brendan left in him. But if there any Brendan Klein left, he wouldn't have killed Harimanna! He would've found a way for her to escape alive!'_

_** 'Why are you blaming Gin for Harimanna's death?'**_

_ 'Because he killed her!'_

_** 'Gin killed Curacao in canon. This isn't canon,'**_

_ 'Gin still killed Harimanna!'_

_** 'No. Look at the clothes you wore to Touto Aquarium,' **_

Senichi crawled over the trash can and picked up the discarded clothing. It was covered in blood and had several holes and tears.

_** 'Those were caused by claws and fangs. The blood is Harimanna's,'**_

_ 'T-This isn't mine!'_

_** 'Then whose is it?'**_

_ 'I-It's Gin's! Gin was the one who killed Harimanna!'_

_** 'Gin **_**hates **_**using his wolf abilities,'**_

_ 'H-He killed Curacao by shooting at her with the helicopter's machine gun!'_

_** 'But Curacao survives that, remember? You pulled her out of the sea,'**_

_ 'But she dies when she drives the crane into the Ferris wheel to stop it! The Ferris wheel crushes her to death!'_

_** 'You were the one who drove the crane. You escaped before you could be crushed,'**_

"Liar!" Senichi yelled out loud.

_** 'Do you remember the fight? Do you remember how your claws sank into her flesh? Do you remember how your fangs crushed her neck?'**_

"Shut up!"

_**'Do you remember the taste of her blood?'**_

"Stop it!"

_ "Sen…" Harimanna whispered so softly that only he could hear her voice. "Thank you…for looking after us…"_

"I didn't do it…" Senichi gripped his head tightly. "I didn't kill her…I didn't _want _to kill her…"

_** 'But you did,'**_

_He crushed her neck completely with a loud, sickening snap. Blood coated his fangs and the inside of his mouth._

"I killed her…" Senichi finally admitted. "I killed her just like I killed Ahren…" He curled up into a ball. _'I failed Ahren…I promised him that I'd look after Brendan and Harimanna. But now, I was the one who __**killed **__Harimanna…'_

Pain seized his body and Senichi had to scramble onto his bed to grab a pillow to muffled his screams. It _hurt so much!_ It felt like he was being torn apart! He then started coughing up blood, _a lot _of blood. He clenched his eyes shut and gripped the bedsheets tightly as he continued to cough for a few more minutes. After what felt like eternity, he took several short, rapid breaths.

_ 'Even after all these years, I'm still suffering from the side effects from Mad Dog Arena. Then again, I did have to use my full capabilities of my polar bear traits to make the fight against Harimanna as real as possible,' _He stared at all the blood. _'How much time do I have left to live?'_

XXX

The crows had managed to crash land the helicopter and escape before any witnesses or police officers gathered at the scene. Gin was currently pacing around his living quarters with anger. _'Curacao betrayed __**me!**__ She betrayed the organization!'_

"You stupid woman!" Gin spat out venomously. _'Why would you betray the people that saved us!? They fed us, clothed us, trained us, and gave us a purpose in life! They took us in rather than eliminating us along with the rest of Mad Dog Arena! Why would you bite the hand that feeds you!? For what reason would you betray the organization!?'_

Gin felt something wet and when he put his hand to his face, he realized that he was crying. He furiously wiped them away. _'No tears! Why am I crying for that traitor!? She betrayed the organization just like Sherry! The fate of traitors is always death! I even planned to kill Sherry, the only woman I ever loved, at Nagoya Station! The only reason why I wasn't the one to end her was because Vermouth killed her before the train could arrive! Why would Curacao betray me too!? Why would she go against the organization!? She has been loyal all these years so why now!?'_

Gin couldn't stop the tears from falling. It was the wolf in him howling in sadness for a deceased pack member. It was Brendan Klein mourning the loss of his last remaining blood relative.

Harimanna Klein and Miyano Shiho…two women who each held part of his heart…two women that he loved, one familial and one romantic…both of them shattered the portions of his heart that they held and betrayed the organization.

The last remaining piece of his heart was with Senichi. Would he shatter it too?

* * *

**Remember when I said that the animal DNA will have side effects? How long do you think Senichi has left to live, especially since he's been using it the most out of the three chimeras.  
Gin is also hurting because when Harimanna decided to betray the organization, she did it without including him. In Gin's eyes, Harimanna purposefully left him behind hence why he feels betrayed. **

**Fun Fact:  
I originally wanted Sable, Senichi's dog, to be the reincarnate of Michael Leo Field's mother. I scrapped that idea because there wasn't much for it to do with the plot. I sometimes forget that Sable is a boy so if you see any female pronouns associated with Sable in this version and the revamped version, just pretend I used male pronouns for him.**

**Velgamidragon:  
****Gotta admit, I enjoyed the dialogue between Kohji and Tsutomu about the color scheme of the Crimson Robins because it's silly, but I agree it does kind of kill the serious tone this chapter is aiming for, so perhaps that's why the way you wrote it feels cringey? I think if you want to use them in Darkest Nightmare for the second draft, it would be better to set up the Crimson Robins well in advance so that when they show up to help in Darkest Nightmare, we know who they are (because I have no idea who any of these members are, so feel nothing about their inclusion) and what the group does so the chapter can be dedicated to focusing on the action and intensity. Oof! That ending hit me right in the feels though! I wasn't sure if Curaçao would still die or not once I got to the part where Gin still tried to kill her, but not only did she die, she was killed by Senichi just like her brother Ahren, and my god, that's so much worse for Senichi's psyche! He knows the show and was able to change the futures of so many characters that met fatal ends, but he still couldn't save one of his oldest friends, and now there's only one left alive, and he may be beyond saving as well. Dear god, I'm hoping super hard that there's a final confrontation between Gin and Senichi at the climax because I'll be disappointed if there isn't one.**

**Skai:  
I purposely put the dialogue at the beginning to be a bit silly since it was one of those situations where a person tries to lighten the mood with a joke or something. Also, I basically just needed a way to info drop the explanation of their suits. I'm not sure if I will be able to have a set up to the Crimson Robins in **_**Scar(red)let Crow **_**because I honestly don't know how to write them before their debut.  
I think the reason I let Harimanna die in the story was because even with all that knowledge of future events, he is still only human. There is only so much he can do. He can't save everyone. If I had him save everyone, it wouldn't be as impactful. Also, I like to emotionally torture Michael Leo Field. Senichi's psyche is bad in this chapter. At first, he was in denial of being the one to murder her. But then he accepts that he killed her and becomes guilty.  
Hell yeah, there's a final confrontation between Gin and Senichi! But the question is who will win? Will Senichi actually have the guts to fight Gin or will the guilt force him to fight alongside his friend? Will it just be the two of them fighting or will others interfere? Will one die, both die, or both live?**


	41. Calm

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XX  
Calm  
Warnings: I literally didn't put too much effort this chapter because I knew I was going to rewrite it. I just rushed to write this and the rest of the story's chapters so I have at least some sort of ending.**

When the Crimson Robins arrived at the location Senichi had told Tsutomu and Kohji, they did find Harimanna Klein. However, she was now a mutilated corpse covered in bite and claw marks. Blood was splattered everywhere and Vermillion knew that it wasn't exclusive to Harimanna. _'There are only three survivors of Mad Dog Arena. This woman is one. Senichi is the other. Brendan Klein is the third. But according to Senichi, the other Klein was in the helicopter. That means that the one who fought Harimanna Klein was Senichi,'_

"What are we going to do now?" Carmine asked.

"We'll be able to sneak out with her corpse in the midst of all the commotion," Vermillion answered. "She was Senichi's friend. I know that he would want her to have a proper burial,"

"Dad," Akai walked over to the leader's side and caught sight of the corpse. "Curacao's dead?"

"Yeah," Vermillion nodded grimly. "He was forced to kill his own friend once again,"

_ 'Senichi…' _Akai couldn't believe how mangled the corpse was. His own _brother _did that.

Vermillion's phone buzzed and he received a text. "It's from Senichi,"

_ Three months from now, I want a meeting with _all _allies. We will create a plan to destroy the organization. The time and place is to be determined._

"Three months," Akai whispered. "Who are our allies so far?"

"I'd rather not have your mother be involved in her current state and I sure as hell don't want Shukichi or Masumi to participate in it," Vermillion replied. "The same goes for Shiho and Holmes' Apprentice. They're seven years old physically so they'll be more vulnerable. I'll ask him for a list," The reply was immediate.

_Akai Tsutomu  
Haneda Kohji  
Sera Mary  
Akai Shuichi  
Rei Alistair  
Jodie Starling  
Andre Camel  
James Black  
Haibara Ai  
Edogawa Conan  
Agasa Hiroshi  
Furuya Rei  
All of the Crimson Robins (I have no idea what their names are)  
All of the FBI Agents stationed in Japan (I have no idea what their names are)  
I know you're going to protest inviting Mary, Conan, and Haibara since they're currently children and at a physical disadvantage, but their intellect is useful. These are the people I could name off the tip of my head, but I may or may not add more names to the list._

"He wants Alistair to come?" Akai inquired.

"Alistair actually helped design the Crimson Robins' suits," Vermillion claimed. "To be honest, Kohji and I didn't expect to interact with him but he somehow found out we were still alive. Even Senichi was shocked when we told him. Well, he's been a great help since he pays for the hotel we stay at as well as all our other necessities,"

XXX

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

Absinthe's first instinct was to tense up but he forced himself to remain calm. "What do you mean, Vermouth?"

"You didn't put your whole heart into the fight," Vermouth pointed out. "I could tell that you didn't really want to kill Curacao. You also _knew _that she would be there, but you were surprised by my presence,"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Absinthe denied.

"You were going to help Curacao escape,"

"You have no evidence," Absinthe reminded.

"Your undying loyalty is a fraud," Vermouth said to him. "You _hate _the organization. You want to be free from the darkness,"

"If you're just going to make such accusations, then why aren't you killing me already?" Absinthe scoffed. "Well? Or do you want me to be judged by the boss first? If you bring me to the boss, I'll tell him all about your Cool Guy and Angel!"

Vermouth aimed her handgun at Absinthe's forehead. "I suggest you watch your tongue,"

"What do you want, Vermouth?"

"I want to help you bring down the organization," Vermouth claimed.

_'Can I trust her?' _Absinthe thought to himself. _'She knows that Conan is investigating the organization and is a threat, yet she hasn't stopped him. She agreed to not go after Shiho anymore after she was outsmarted on the Mystery Train. She didn't have to agree nor did she have to keep her end of the deal, yet she did,' _"Why? Why do you want to help bring down the organization? You're the boss' _favorite. _You have more freedom than any other organization member,"

Vermouth smirked. "A secret makes a woman, woman,"

_ 'This bitch…'_

XXX

The meeting place was a mountain villa owned by the Rei Family. Alistair was the first to arrive because, well, he owned the place and he had to ensure the security systems didn't murder anyone. Senichi came along with him. "Thanks for letting us use your villa for the meeting,"

"No problem," Alistair grinned. "It's very spacious so there are enough rooms for everyone. Craton uses this place for him and his men to stay when he has business in Japan,"

"Seriously, how rich is your brother?" Senichi asked. "I know he's a mafia don, but just how much money does he make?"

"That's a secret," Alistair chuckled. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you,"

"I'd like to see you try," Senichi joked. "I don't know how skilled you are so it'll be an interesting battle,"

Minutes later, Tsutomu, Mary, Akai, Shukichi, Masumi, and Kohji arrived. "Before you get mad," Kohji quickly told Senichi. "I know Shukichi and Masumi's names weren't on the list,"

"Yeah because I didn't want them involved!" Senichi snapped. "You _know _what we're up against! Are you trying to endanger their lives!?"

"Senichi," Mary reminded. "Masumi and Shukichi are already involved because they're connected to us. Remember, Vermouth already went after my life. She knew that you, Shuichi, and Shukichi were my sons. Since she stunned Masumi on the Mystery Train, she also knows that Masumi's my daughter. All of us are already in danger and it's best that we are all aware of it,"

"Fine," Senichi sighed. "But why did you guys arrive so early? There are still _hours _until the meeting time?"

"I thought that you might want to spend some time with your family," Tsutomu informed. "You never really got to know your younger sister and your brother was six when you last saw him," It was actually ten years since Senichi saw them at the beach but he didn't bother correcting him.

"Senichi-niisan…" Shukichi called out tearfully. "Niisan…"

"You've grown…" Senichi felt a lump in his throat. "I…" _'Deep breaths, Senichi. Put on your Leo Vineyard mask,'_ He cleared his throat and spoke clearer now. "How have you been?"

"It's alright to cry," Akai gently told him. "You don't have to keep a composed front up. We're your family,"

"I'll go and check the other security systems," Alistair said, not wanting to intrude on the familial moment.

"You're…" Senichi turned to Masumi. "You're my…my sister…"

"We met at the beach ten years ago," Masumi recalled. "You were with Kudo-kun,"

"Yeah," Senichi took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I couldn't be a big brother to you. You don't have to think of me as family if you don't want to. After all, I'm just a stranger. You hardly know me and I don't really know you,"

_** 'They don't want a monster to be part of their family,'**_

"Why don't we all sit down for some tea?" Tsutomu offered. "I'll brew some,"

XXX

There was an awkward silence among them. Finally, Shukichi spoke up. "Niisan, what happened to you? We thought that you had died in Mad Dog Arena,"

Niisan. It had been so long since he had heard someone call him that. When Tsutomu had begun teaching Shukichi Japanese, Shukichi would cheerfully call Shuichi and Senichi "Niisan." Senichi avoided eye contact and didn't answer immediately. He took a long sip of his tea. "I didn't die there," His body trembled as he recalled the two years of hell he spent in that place. His face changed to one that expressed how traumatic it was.

"Senichi?"

_ He could vividly remember him and the other children being branded. He gripped his left shoulder tightly._

"Senichi!"

_ He could clearly remember the horrifying snap of Ahren's neck. He could remember the metallic taste of blood and the mushy pieces of flesh on his lips and teeth._

"SENICHI!"

He finally snapped out of it and shook his head. "Y-Yeah?"

"I didn't mean for you to recall bad memories," Shukichi apologized. "I'm sorry, Niisan,"

"Shukichi, do you know why Mom's in that shrunken state?" Senichi asked. "It's because of the same organization that tried to kill Kohji and Dad. That organization…they were the ones to rescue me and my friends from that hellhole,"

"Huh?" Masumi questioned. "Why would they rescue you but then try to kill Papa, Kohji, and Mama?"

"They probably wanted to kill Kohji because of his connection to Amanda Hughes," Senichi answered. "They wanted to kill Dad because he investigated Kohji's death. They wanted to kill Mom so they could infiltrate the MI6, but those plans were foiled because you would inform the MI6 if she didn't arrive back to your guys' place,"

"Vermouth didn't know that I had a daughter," Mary added. "It took her by surprise so she couldn't go after you,"

"Papa, Kohji-san," Masumi inquired. "How did you guys know that they would go after you?"

"I warned them," Senichi revealed. "I warned Dad when I was around four years old. When Kohji turned thirteen, we informed him too,"

"But that was years before Kohji 'died' in America!" Shukichi exclaimed. "How could you have known?"

"Dimensional travel," Senichi told his siblings. "I died in my original world and was reincarnated into this one. In the Real World, this world is a fictional anime and manga series,"

"Senichi is telling the truth," Tsutomu confirmed. "How else would he have known that Kohji would be targeted years before the actual incident?"

"But dimensional travel is impossible!" Shukichi claimed. "And there's no scientific evidence of reincarnation!"

"That's a better reaction than I had," Kohji chuckled. "I thought Tsutomu-ojisan had given Senichi drugs,"

"I _still _can't believe you accused me of such a thing," Tsutomu pouted at the memory.

"You said this world is a fictional anime and manga series," Masumi said. "What is it called?"

_"In America where I grew up, the title was Case Closed," _Senichi replied in English before switching back to Japanese. "It's original Japanese title is Detective Conan. As you can probably already tell, Conan's the main character. It revolves around the cases he encounters and solves. His goal is to return to his original body and bring down the organization,"

"If Conan-kun's the main character, then how did you end up in our family?" Shukichi asked.

"I don't know, nor do I care to dwell on it," Senichi shrugged. "But there are some things that I really want to know: why was I reborn into this world? Why me? Why not someone else, someone stronger and smarter? Did my parents also reincarnate? Will I ever meet them again? And what's my purpose?" He quickly shook his head. "Sorry, I was ranting,"

"You can rant all you want," Shukichi said with a small smile. "It's good to hear your voice,"

"On a brighter note," Tsutomu brought up. "What is it like being Leo Vineyard? I'm curious as to how celebrity life is,"

"In America, I'm easily recognizable," Senichi smiled. "That's one of the reasons why I came back to Japan. Less people know me here. I do enjoy the money though. I have an extensive collection of anime and manga goods. Oh, I also have four peacocks back at my estate in America. Their names are War, Famine, Conquest, and Death. Jenever bought them for me for my birthday," His smile disappeared. "They'll never be able to replace Sable though,"

"No one is replaceable," Mary told him gently. "Including Sable,"

"Yeah," Senichi nodded quietly. He finished off the rest of his cup of tea.

"I've disabled the security systems to allow the people gathering here to not be killed," Alistair informed as he reentered the room. "So it's been a while since we last spoke, Senichi. I am very interested to hear all about your life. But I have one very important question: Do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend?"

_'Seriously? This is the first proper talk we have and he's asking about my love life?' _"I broke up with her," Senichi sighed softly. "I'm a criminal. There's no way our relationship could end happily. I'm sure she has already moved on,"

"She still loves you," Akai informed him.

"Don't give me false hope, Shuichi," Senichi glared at him. "I can handle the harsh truth. She hates me for lying about my identity,"

"You didn't lie about your name," Akai pointed out. "You _are_ Senichi Soren. You just never said your surname,"

"That doesn't change the fact that after she found out I was Absinthe, she now hates me," Senichi shook his head.

"She doesn't hate you," Akai claimed.

"Shuichi, I don't think it's your place to speak for his ex-girlfriend," Alistair said. "But I have an awesome idea on how we can convince her to take Senichi back. Sen, does she have another ex-boyfriend?"

"Yes, I know of at least one person she dated besides me," Senichi quirked a brow. "Why?"

"Let's convince him to pretend to be an obsessed stalker and then you'll swoop in to save the day," Alistair suggested. "If she had fallen out of love with you, this will surely get her to fall back in love. So what's this other ex-boyfriend's name so that I can get his files?"

"I can guarantee you that he will not act in that manner," Senichi gave him a flat look.

"Just tell me his name and let me do the talking," Alistair said. "So what's his name?"

"Akai Shuichi,"

Alistair turned to Akai. "Hey Shuichi—"

"No," Akai immediately refused. "Besides, she's an FBI Agent. I've sparred against her and she knows how to defend herself,"

"Enough talk about Senichi's love life," Alistair clapped his hands. "Shuichi, do _you_ have a girlfriend?"

"Gin killed her," Akai still seemed bothered by Akemi's death.

"Brendan shot her in the stomach but Akemi's alive," Senichi revealed. "I convinced Rei-kun to help fake her death. Her alias is Katsuki Sakiko. She'll be here in…" He checked his phone once he felt it vibrate. "Oh, she's here already,"

Akai grabbed Senichi's arm. "Why did you bring her here? It'd be safer if she stayed in hiding until after the battle,"

"It's not your call to make," Senichi pulled his arm free. "She wants to fight. She doesn't want to be a damsel in distress. Besides, if her sister is putting herself on the line, of course she'd do the same," He walked over and opened the door. "Hey Akemi, glad to see you're not dead,"

"You have a strange way of greeting people, Leo-kun," Akemi commented as she entered. Her eyes immediately landed on Akai. "Dai-kun…"

"Akemi," Akai felt a surge of emotions. Akemi was alive. She had survived. Her she was, in the flesh, right in front of him.

"Oh right, you still don't know his real name," Senichi realized. "Akemi, this is Akai Shuichi, my older twin brother,"

"Your twin brother?" Akemi questioned.

"My name isn't Leo Vineyard," Senichi shook his head. "It's Akai Senichi. I had to go by Leo Vineyard when I joined the organization,"

"Wait, why does Jenever call you NFL?" Akemi inquired.

"Because Jenever is annoying," Senichi sighed. "Akemi, Shuichi here thinks that you should've stayed in hiding after the battle,"

Akemi faced Akai. "D—Shuichi-kun, I can protect myself. In the time I spent in hiding, I trained in martial arts and improved my marksmanship. I'm not a helpless little princess. You forgot that I have been part of the organization since I was a child. I may not have gone an many important missions as you and L—Senichi-kun, but I have killed before,"

"Let's make something clear," Senichi spoke up. "If anyone's going to kill Gin, it's going to be me. It _has _to be me,"

"You don't want to take him alive?" Akai asked.

"I _want _to, but I know how he is," Senichi sighed. "He won't give any information. No torture can break him, not after the torture we've been through,"

* * *

**I'm getting rid of Alistair Rei in **_**Scar(red)let Crow. **_

**I really hate how **_**Fade to Darkness **_**is written in this and the next couple chapters because they are terrible.**

**AnimeFreak9096:  
I have a headache from all the crying I did after reading this. Now to cheer myself up I'm gonna read **_**Mitsuharu.**_

**Skai:  
Sorry, sorry, I hope you recovered just fine from that headache. Unfortunately, **_**Mitsuharu **_**will also be ending soon so I can focus on the rewrite. It won't have any fancy names since I can't think of any except **_**Spring of Triumph **_**which doesn't sound that good. I think I might just stay with the name **_**Mitsuharu (Revamped).**_


	42. Brothers

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XXI  
Brothers  
Warnings: Why do you wish to read such a terribly written chapter?**

"Hey, to pass time, let's spar," Alistair suggested. "You said you wanted to see how strong I am, right Sen?"

"There's still a while until the others arrive," Senichi glanced at his watch. "We'll spar out in the front then,"

Everyone moved outside and kept their distance from the two to not get caught up in the battle. "The rules are simple," Tsutomu, who acted as referee, said. "First to pin the other down for five seconds wins. Ready? Begin!"

Alistair made the first move, lunging forward to roundhouse kick his head. Senichi leaned forward to dodge and delivered multiple open palm thrusts to Alistair's chest, knocking him off balance. Alistair stumbled back but quickly regained his balance. He then sent several jabs Senichi's way to which the latter easily dodged. Senichi grabbed Alistair's wrist and flipped him over. He placed a transformed hand over Alistair's throat and pinned him down.

"Holy shit!" Alistair exclaimed at sight of the larger hand and the claws.

"Senichi wins," Tsutomu declared.

"Tsk, tsk, I am disappointed in you NFL," Jenever came out of the shadows of nearby trees. "I expected you to have defeated him instantly with a single hit,"

Akai aimed his gun at Jenever's head. "What are you doing here?"

"I called him here," Senichi informed. "He, Vermouth, and Cognac are going to be part of the plan,"

"Here," Jenever shoved a white tiger plushy into Senichi's arms. "I bought it to cheer up MLB since NBA died, but he just threatened to kill me,"

"Have you not learned our names in the twenty years we've been part of the organization?" Senichi sighed. "Gin doesn't care about anyone or anything except for the organization. Why would he be saddened over Harimanna's death? He _wanted _her to die! He…" His voice became quieter. "He doesn't care about family or friends anymore. All he cares about is the organization,"

"By the way, Cognac isn't going to come here," Jenever told him. "He was killed during a mission,"

"Meh, I could care less about him," Senichi shrugged. "He was too obsessed with me and it was starting to get annoying,"

"Sen-nii," Masumi couldn't believe those words came out of her brother's mouth. "How could you be so indifferent to someone's death like that?"

"Masumi," Senichi reminded. "I'm a murderer. I'm a killer. I'm an assassin. I _have _killed people, even before I joined the organization. In Mad Dog Arena…children were forced to kill other children. The dead children were…turned into food. If I'm affected by every single death I come across, the organization would think I'm too soft. When I first killed, I vomited and was disgusted with myself. But I've learned to be indifferent,"

_** 'She doesn't want a murderer for a brother,'**_

"You killed in self-defense," Akai said.

"When I joined the organization, I killed because I was ordered to," Senichi pointed out.

"Because you would've been killed if you didn't," Kohji added. "You did criminal acts under duress. If you weren't being threatened, you wouldn't have killed,"

_**'You don't deserve your family,'**_

"You're wrong," Senichi put his mask on to lie convincingly. "I would've killed if I had grown up normally. This is my true personality," _'I'm dying either way. Mind as well cut off any emotional attachments. It'll be easier on them too,'_

"You're wrong!" Akemi shouted. "This _isn't _your true personality! Do you remember all the time you spent with my parents and me? The time you spent with Shiho and me when we weren't involved with organization business? You may have been using the name Leo Vineyard, but the person we grew up with was Senichi!"

"It was all an act," Senichi claimed. "My orders were to get close to you and Sherry so that you're emotionally reliant on my. That way I could keep tabs on you guys,"

"That is completely false," Jenever corrected. "Seriously NFL, did you forget that I'm here?"

"Why the hell are you even betraying the organization?" Senichi faced the man who had rescued him from Mad Dog Arena.

"Oh, I've just grown tired with the organization," Jenever shrugged. "I want to see the organization fall since it'll be a new experience,"

"You would most likely not be completely pardoned of your crimes," Senichi reminded. "You'd go to jail,"

"At least it's a change of pace," Jenever grinned.

"You've gone senile over the years," Senichi shook his head. "I can't believe you're the same guy who destroyed Mad Dog Arena,"

"Technically you also helped," Jenever mumbled, upset that _one _person had escaped death. "If that mad doctor hadn't escaped, it would've been a complete annihilation,"

"I swear I would've killed you if it wasn't for the fact that I owe my life to you," Senichi muttered under his breath. "I'm gonna go for a walk. Call me when the others arrive," Without another word, he ran off.

"Shuichi, go after him," Tsutomu ordered. "I think you understand him the most,"

XXX

"Senichi!" Akai called as he chased after his brother. "Senichi!"

_'Why won't he just leave me alone!?'_ He amplified his speed…only to trip on a log. He coughed up some blood and cursed as he heard his brother catch up to him.

"S—is that blood?" Akai knelt down beside his twin.

"Just leave me alone…" Senichi sat up and wiped the blood on his sleeve.

"Why are you coughing up blood?" Akai asked with concern. "Why didn't you go to the organization's medical wing or a hospital?"

"They won't be able to do anything!" Senichi shoved him away. "Just leave me alone, Shuichi! Why won't you leave me alone!?"

"Because I don't want to lose you again," Akai answered. "What do you mean the organization's medical wing can't do anything? I know their technology is more advanced than the ones in hospitals. They should be able to do at least _something_,"

"I hate you…I hate you…" Senichi leaned his head against his brother's chest and weakly started punching him. "I hate how you and the rest of our family have broken down the walls that I kept around my heart. I hate how I've become more emotional because of you guys. I tried to keep up a poker face, but your guys' presence shattered it…"

"I'm here for you," Akai wrapped his arms around him. "We're _all _here for you,"

_**'Don't tell him. It will only cause him to worry even more. It will be bothering him during the final battle. You'll only be a distraction,'**_

_'No…' _Senichi decided to go against his dark thoughts. _'I want to handle all this alone but…but I don't have to. I want to but I don't have to. I have people I can rely on,'_ "Shuichi…don't tell the others…Don't tell Mom or Dad or Shukichi or Masumi…"

"You're coughing up _blood_," Akai pointed out.

"Please…" Senichi sounded so _broken._

_'It's better that only I know rather than no one at all,'_ Akai nodded. "I won't tell them,"

"My body…it's been clashing with the polar bear DNA that I was injected with in Mad Dog Arena…Every time I use my polar bear traits, I'm slowly killing myself…" He clenched his brother's shirt. "Gin and Curacao had an older brother in Mad Dog Arena, Ahren Klein…" Tears started to well up and he began to trembled upon remembering his other friend. "He had black mamba DNA and his own venom was killing him. I…the reason why Gin and Curacao weren't affected as much as me…I used my polar bear traits way more often,"

"You're—"

"I'm dying…" It hurt to say that. "I'm dying and there's nothing that can be done…"

"No…" Akai hugged him even tighter. "No, no, no! Y-You're not dying!" He wasn't going to lose his brother again! "Y-You're going to be fine! Just don't use your polar bear traits!"

"I've already damaged my body too much…" Senichi shook his head. "By my calculation, I have three years max. Probably less…" He weakly smiled, though it wasn't much of an effort. "Why are you crying? From what I've read on the wiki, Akai Shuichi is a tenacious but stoic agent. Even in personal matters, he remains cool, even detached, from anyone, but his redeeming value is a great sense of loyalty to anyone he knows. You shouldn't be crying over someone like me,"

"Someone like you?" Akai parroted. "Idiot. You're my _brother_,"

"Don't tell anyone else," Senichi repeated. "I…I don't want them to be distracted during the final battle. If they're too worried about me, they might end up making a mistake that could cost them their life,"

"I won't," Akai promised. "But after…you have to tell them,"

"I will," _'I won't,'_

* * *

**Cognac may or may not make an appearance in **_**Scar(red)let Crow. **_

**Velgamidragon:  
****Gotta say, I really liked this chapter. I always get pulled into stories by family and friendship bonds, whether they're broken and trying to fix things or slowly crumbling apart and I thought you pulled off both feelings very well in this chapter: the former with Senichi and his blood family, and the latter with Senichi trying to come to terms with how his friendship with Gin is ending/ended.**

**Skai:  
The bonds will be even stronger in the revamped version… I **_**really **_**am resisting the urge to say why the bond is stronger but let's just say, it's a MAJOR difference from **_**Fade to Darkness. **_


	43. Wolf

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc IV  
Chapter XXII  
Wolf  
Warnings: Please spare yourself from this horribly written chapter**

Senichi and Vermouth had disabled as many security alarms and cameras as they could without it being too noticeable. Nobody would suspect two high ranking operatives to be traitors, especially since one of them was the boss' favorite. The disabled security measures allowed the allied group, dubbed (much to Rei's annoyance) the Red Army, to infiltrate without drawing immediate attention.

Senichi had told them of Vermouth's involvement in the plan during the briefing and had been immediately met with disapproval. It had taken a while but Senichi eventually convinced them that Vermouth was a trustworthy enough ally to be included in the plan. He inwardly flinched when he saw the hurt and betrayed look on Jodie's face. Of course Jodie didn't want to work with the woman who had murdered her father.

Once everyone was in position, chaos broke out. There were three main objectives: retrieve the files on Apoptoxin 4869, capture or kill the boss, and capture or kill as many crows as possible. Senichi's main priority was the first goal and he made his way to the labs. Upon seeing him, the scientists all asked what was going on. He ordered them to get to the nearest exit and flee. Of course, the nearest exit would be swarming with several soldiers of the Red Army and the scientists would be captured.

Senichi connected a flash drive to the nearest computer and quickly accessed the database. He started transferring the files and then started going through the file cabinets. The organization kept documentations both digitally and physically. If getting the APTX 4869 file physically was faster, he'd be able to get out of there faster.

_ 'There are multiple labs that are part of the organization,' _The Scarlet Crow thought as he quickly skimmed through each file name. _'But since this is headquarters, all files should at least be in the database. Since it was a very important project, started originally by Aunt Elena and continued by Shiho, there should be physical copies. If they're not in this lab, then they might be in the one on the other side of the base,'_

He barely managed to get out of the way of a bullet aimed at his head. _'That was too close!' _

"Traitor!" Gin snarled, though he still did not use his wolf traits. "I knew something was up. The dogs got in way too easily!"

"You've changed," Senichi told him. "The organization changed you! It made you into a, a monster!"

"Mad Dog Arena made us into monsters!" Gin yelled and fired another shot.

Senichi winced as it grazed his cheek. "You killed your own sister!"

"Correction," Gin reminded. "_You _killed Curacao,"

Senichi bit his lip. "She didn't want me to be branded as a traitor like her. That doesn't change the fact that you wanted her dead!" His voice slightly quivered.

Gin noticed the slight waver in the man's voice and was definitely going to take advantage of it. "Just because I wanted her dead doesn't mean I'm the one who did the final blow. Vermouth told me that you crushed her neck with your fangs. Tell me, did you taste her flesh? Did you taste her blood?"

"Shut up!" Senichi snapped. _'It's not my fault! There was no other way! Shut up! She made the choice to fight me!'_

_** 'She was worried about Vermouth branding you as a traitor too, yet you teamed up with her,'**_

"I bet you ate her corpse, didn't you?" Gin grinned, enjoying the tormented expression of his former friend. "You're a monster. You and Curacao both are monsters. I don't know why you kept on insisting on using the curse that those bastards put on us,"

Senichi drew his own gun and pointed it at Gin. "I said shut up!" _'I'm not a monster!'_

"Can you really shoot me?" Gin mocked. "Oh wait, I bet you can. I bet you don't regret killing Ahren and Harimanna. I bet you actually _wanted _them dead. Since you already killed them, how is my death any different?"

"Both of them wanted me to kill them!" Senichi claimed. _'Ignore him! He's just trying to get into my head!' _He fired a shot.

Gin didn't even have to dodge. The bullet completely missed him. "Tell me, Akai Senichi," He walked towards him and grabbed the blonde by his throat. "Does your family actually care about you?"

_ 'They do!'_

_**'They don't want you anymore,'**_

"Did Akai even recognize you when he was infiltrating the organization?" Gin reminded. "You're his twin brother, yet he didn't recognize you,"

_** 'He's right,'**_

_ 'No, he's not! Y-Yeah, Shuu didn't recognize me b-but I'm always wearing my Absinthe disguise!'_

_** 'He's your brother. He's supposed to be able to recognize you,'**_

Senichi increased the strength in his right arm and turned his nails into claws. "They already know and they've accepted me!" He swiped at Gin who pulled his head back.

"Did they really?" Gin chuckled. "They're just using you. If they had openly shown their disgust, you wouldn't have helped them,"

"Why did you turn out like this!?" Senichi demanded. "The three of us survived through hell together! How could you disregard our friendship so easily!? You didn't bother to try to protect Harimanna!"

"Friendship and family are meaningless," Gin fired a few bullets.

Senichi was struck in both shoulders and his side. Thankfully he wore a bulletproof vest, though the force caused him to cough up some blood. "Meaningless? What about Ahren? Was his death meaningless? What about your guys' mother? Didn't you three wish to see her again?"

"A mother is supposed to protect her children. She didn't stop our bastard of a father from selling us to Mad Dog Arena," Gin spat out angrily. "As for Ahren? At least he was of some use. He provided us with a slightly larger ration that night. To survive in this cruel world, you need to throw away friends and family,"

"You're no longer the Brendan Klein I grew up with," Senichi increased his speed and lunged forth, slamming Gin against the shelf behind him.

Gin hissed as glass shards and some chemicals burned through his coat. "Enough chitchat! Traitors must be eliminated!"

_'I don't want to kill him!' _Senichi crushed both of Gin's arms, breaking them. He expected Gin to not be able to continue and that he could detain him, but he was wrong.'

Gin, despite sporting two broken arms, still fought back. The pain of moving his arms did not bother him at all. He fired several bullets at Senichi. "DIE!"

Senichi was struck in the arms and legs. He made sure to at least dodge being hit in the head since that would most likely be a fatal blow. _'If I don't kill him, I'll be the one who dies!'_

A single shot rang out and blood flowed from the hole in Gin's head. The silver haired man fell forward, dead.

"You were taking too long," Jenever said casually, not caring about the fact that his latest victim was his former student. "Looks like the computers here got destroyed in your fight against Gin. Well, Chibi Sherry radioed that she and Chibi Kudo managed to retrieve the file they needed. Things got even more hectic and now the building's on fire. Best you get outta here,"

_**'He killed Brendan! He killed Brendan! He killed Brendan!'**_

Senichi glared at the elder agent and without hesitation, he used his claws to slice the man's neck open. Jenever gurgled and started to choke on his own blood. But rather than being shocked or hurt by the betrayal, he spent his last moments laughing. He really had gone senile.

Senichi stared at Jenever's corpse in horror. _'I killed him! I killed Jenever! H-He's an ally! I killed an ally! We're on the same side! And I killed him!'_

"Jenever…Brendan…" He looked at both of their corpses and felt the fresh hot tears running down his cheeks.

_** 'See, you **_**are**_** a monster!'**_

Senichi could smell smoke. The fire Jenever had mentioned was nearing. _'I should just stay here. I'll just die alongside Brendan and Jenever. My family doesn't need a monster like me. Alistair doesn't need a monster for a friend. Jodie…'_ He still wore the necklace she had gifted him and clutched the pendant. _'She can do better than me. I don't deserve her,'_

"Senichi…"

_'Oh darkness, I must be hearing voices,'_

"Senichi!"

_'Why's it getting louder? They wouldn't—'_

"SENICHI!"

His brother and his father rushed into the room. "Senichi, what are you doing!? The place is on fire! Get up! We're leaving!"

They pulled him along with them. As if a robot, Senichi followed.

_ 'Why did they come back for me?'_

* * *

**END OF ARC IV**

**The final battle will be MUCH better in the revamped version.**

**Arc V begins next chapter. It'll be the aftermath of the fall of the organization.**


	44. Antidote

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc V  
Chapter I  
Antidote  
Warnings: Senichi's not mentally sound**

_'Why? Why am I still alive?'_

Senichi lay in his hospital bed, his wounds treated by the appointed doctors and nurses. Normally he'd have been allowed to leave after a couple days, but everyone was worried about his mental health. He wouldn't respond to anyone. He wouldn't respond to doctors, nurses, family, or friends. He would just silently continue to stare up at the ceiling.

_ 'They should've let me die,'_

Despite his lack of reactions, his family still visited him. Eventually, Mary started visiting in her adult form after Haibara was able to create the permanent antidote. The only reaction they got was a brief glance at his mother who had returned to her original form. It was better than nothing. Even if he weren't listening, they would all talk to him and encourage him to speak too.

_ 'They should just forget about me,'_

XXX

After he took the completed antidote, Edogawa Conan no longer existed. He was now, and will always be, Kudo Shinichi. Now, all he had to do was to tell everyone the truth. He was done lying. He called them to the professor's house and explained his lies and revealed the truth.

Ran had been understandably angry. Shinichi had lied to her. All this time, he had been by her side. When she was close to finding out his identity, he had created more lies to cover it up. But his lies weren't the only reason why she was angry. She, and also her father, were furious that Conan had been tranquilizing Kogoro and using him like a puppet. They were also angry that Professor Agasa had created such a dangerous device. What if Kogoro had a negative reaction to the tranquilizers? What if the darts were slowly poisoning him as it built up?

The Detective Boys were also hurt. Their own friend had been lying to them this whole time. While Shinichi could've come up with a story that Conan had moved to America to be with his parents, he didn't want to create yet another lie.

Haibara, though she wanted to remain a child for a second chance at childhood, knew that she couldn't have a normal childhood in Japan anymore once the truth was out. Even if Shinichi hadn't told them about her part, they'd put two and two together and figure out that she was also a shrunken adult. She decided that she'd live with her sister in America, though her friends made her promise to keep in touch. Even after the revelation, they still considered her to be their friend.

She wanted to move to America to get away from the memories of the organization in Japan. She had studied in America when she was younger, before they brought her back to Japan where she was forced to work on APTX 4869. With the FBI's help, the official documents for Haibara Ai were created.

* * *

**Arc V will have three chapters and they'll all be on the shorter side.**


	45. Family

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc V  
Chapter II  
Family  
Warnings: Senichi needs help**

Senichi was gone. He had escaped the hospital and had returned to his old apartment. He quickly shoved a few of his fake documents and his disguise kit into a backpack before booking a plane ticket using one of his many aliases that he had used for missions. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to leave the country as soon as possible, the next available ticket was for the next mornings. He wanted to run away from everything, including his family.

So now he had found himself drinking at a bar, waiting for time to pass. He heard someone pull up into the seat next to him and without even glancing in their direction, he knew who it was. "They sent you after me?"

"Everyone is looking for you," Jodie answered. "I had a feeling that you would be here,"

Senichi downed his glass and then leaned his head against Jodie's shoulder. "I'm sorry for lying to you,"

"Did you really love me?" Jodie wrapped one of her arms around him.

"It was real," He nodded. "You were the light in the dark world I lived in. Every time I was with you, I was happy, even when we had our disputes,"

"Let's go back," Jodie said. "They're all worried about you,"

"I'm so tired of _everything_," Senichi told her. "Why…why do they still consider me family? I'm a monster. Monsters don't deserve families. Monsters don't deserve happiness,"

"To them, you're not a monster," Jodie claimed. "They consider you family because that is what you are. They love you. They know that you didn't commit all those crimes by choice. They know that you didn't choose to go to Mad Dog Arena by choice,"

"Shuu told you about Mad Dog Arena kidnapping me?"

"Yeah," Jodie nodded. "They don't think you're a monster and neither do I,"

"They're lying because they don't want to hurt my feelings,"

"Senichi," Jodie tilted his face so that they made eye contact with each other. "Even if that were true, it proves that they care about your feelings,"

XXX

"Senichi!" His family rushed over to him when they reunited in front of the hospital after Jodie had sent a text to Akai.

Senichi walked over to his parents and they hugged him tightly. He leaned into their embrace. "Mom…Dad…I want to go home…I don't want to stay in Japan or the US…Japan and the US is where Absinthe mainly operated. I want to move on…but I can't if I'm still living here…"

"We can go back to England," Mary suggested. "Alistair took care of the house when we moved away,"

"I'm tired of _everything_," He sobbed. "I'm tired of killing. I'm tired of stealing. I'm tired of blackmailing. I'm tired of torturing. I'm tired of acting…"

"You can rest now, Sen-nii," Masumi said and patted her elder brother's back. Though she and her brother have only recently met, she still cared for him.

"I don't want to be Absinthe," He cried. "I don't want to be Leo Vineyard. I just want to be Akai Senichi…"

"You don't have to pretend to be something else," Shukichi said.

"You _are _Akai Senichi," Akai added.

Tsutomu and Mary pulled some strings so that the next morning, the family took the next flight to England.

XXX

Senichi attended therapy sessions to help cope. At first, he didn't want to go to those sessions and refused to speak to the therapist. He expected the therapist to get angry, yell at him, and to force him to talk. But the therapist was patient. She waited until Senichi was ready to speak about his experiences himself. She did her best to make Senichi comfortable when he wasn't ready to speak by changing the subject to his interests, such as anime and manga.

Senichi eventually did tell her about his lives. He spoke about how he was from another world, how he had died, and how he had been reborn into this world. He spoke about how he missed his parents in the Real World but eventually accepted his new family. He spoke about happy moments from both of the families. He spoke about how his kidnapping and, though it was traumatic, he spoke about living in Mad Dog Arena. He spoke about the organization and his friends. He spoke about how he felt like he was a monster and wasn't allowed to be happy.

"You're not a monster," The therapist said. "Your family loves you dearly. If they didn't love you, they wouldn't be trying to help you,"

"I want them to be happy to be with me," Senichi claimed. "But at the same time, I want them to be angry with me,"

"Why do you want them to be angry?"

"Because I'm…" He hesitated. "I'm dying. All the experiments in Mad Dog Arena have taken a toll on my body. From my observations, the most I have is three years, though it'll probably be less than that,"

"Does your family know?"

"Shuichi knows," He answered. "But the others don't. I don't want them to know. I want them to be angry so that when I die, they won't be as sad,"

"Parents do get upset at their children if they misbehave, but in the end they still love their kids. Even if you make them angry, they'll still be saddened when you die,"

"I want to tell them but they all seem so _hopeful_," Senichi grabbed a tissue and wiped away his tears. He didn't repress his emotions during therapy and was encouraged to be as expressive as he could be. "After twenty two years, I'm back home. They think I'll be able to continue living life with them. But…it turns out that I only have less than three years left until I leave for good,"

"Losing a loved one is always tough and inevitable. But they will always exist in our hearts along with the happy memories we have of them. If you tell them, they'll be able to at least prepare their selves for your demise. A sudden death can be more traumatic. But in the end, it will be your choice to tell them or not,"

Senichi took a deep breath. "I…I think I'll tell them,"

* * *

**Akai never told his family that Senichi is dying. It's Senichi's secret to tell.**

**Velgamidragon:  
Oh? Three chapters seems a lot for a wrap-up given that the fates of at least two of the characters have already been outline. And if they're shorter, would it make sense to consolidate them into a smaller number of chapters?**

**Skai:  
I just rushed to finish up **_**Fade to Darkness **_**since I had already begun writing **_**Scar(red)let Crow **_**by this point. When I decided to end a chapter in Arc V, to me it just seemed like the right spot to split them up. Now that I'm looking at them, it **_**would've**_** been better to just make one single chapter and just label it Epilogue.**


	46. Love

**Fade to Darkness**

**Title: **Fade to Darkness  
**Rating: **M  
**Fandom: **Detective Conan  
**Summary: **Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]

* * *

**Arc V  
Chapter III  
Love  
Warnings: Character Death**

Senichi didn't know how to breach the subject with his family. While they were eating dinner, he had casually said, "By the way, I have less than three years left to live. I'm dying, my body's breaking down, and I'm gonna kick the bucket again,"

Of course, his family had been stunned. They tried to comfort him by saying that he'll be fine and that they would find a way to help him. Senichi smiled sadly but shook his head. "I spent the past few years at my private lab trying to separate the polar bear DNA from myself, but I always failed. Besides, how could we test anything? There are no other test subjects. Ahren, Brendan, and Harimanna are dead. Mad Dog Arena was destroyed,"

"We'll find a way!" Tsutomu declared.

"Are we supposed to just sit back and let you die?" Mary asked. "We finally have you back and now you're dying!"

"You won't find a solution in time!" Senichi snapped, raising his voice. "If I'm gonna die, I don't want my last days to be filled with the same poking and prodding of needles that I experienced in Mad Dog Arena!"

There was a brief silence upon the mention of that hellhole. "As much as I want Senichi-niisan to live," Shukichi spoke up. "He's right. Let's just help him live his last days happily,"

XXX

His family made time for him. Akai took a break from the FBI and Shukichi took a break from shogi matches. Masumi still had to finish high school and when she graduated, Senichi attended. Jodie was able to take a break from work too to be with Senichi. Senichi didn't want to rekindle their romantic relationship, knowing that he would inevitably die, but Jodie promised him that she would be with him until the end.

Alistair seemed to have all the free time in the world and would drop by usually every other day but sometimes he would drop by only once a week. "What the hell do you do when you're not with us?" Senichi inquired curiously one afternoon.

"Oh, I go to Italy," Alistair informed. "I plan on staging Leo Vineyard's death there. Think of the headline: American Singer Killed By Italian Mafia!"

"Honestly, I was fine with just mysteriously disappearing without saying anything," Senichi claimed. "I still can't believe your brother is the head of the Italian mafia,"

"I'm not allowed to be involved with them," Alistair pouted. "Apparently the criminal life isn't for me,"

"You're too soft," Senichi commented. "I was shocked when I learned that your brother was the head of the mafia Desert Kingdom. But to blame their crimes on you is unfair since you're not involved and hypocritical since I was part of the organization,"

"Uh…" Masumi glanced at the rest of her family, unsure what to make of the information that one of her brother's friends was the younger brother of a mafia don.

"There's no evidence to have Craton arrested," Senichi smirked. "Besides, it's not in MI6 or FBI jurisdiction," _'I know it's morally wrong to be talking about the mafia as if they're not criminals, but they can't be arrested without evidence,'_

XXX

Senichi and Shuichi celebrated their thirty-third birthday. It was their first birthday together in twenty-two years. They ate delicious foods throughout the whole day, watched a movie, visited the zoo, and had a barbecue. Senichi was happy and glad that he hadn't gone through with running away. Several pictures were taken and Senichi knew it wasn't just for the celebration, but to remember Senichi when he died.

At dinner the next morning, Senichi started coughing up blood and collapsed. He refused to be taken to a hospital and instead, requested to be taken to his room. For a month, he lay bedridden, his body getting weaker and weaker. His family and friends all stayed by his side during his vulnerability. On the night he knew would be his last, he requested to hold his journal.

"I died in the Real World holding Detective Conan Volume 37," He informed. "And I was reincarnated into this world. I turned my journal into a manga of my life in this world. I know it probably won't happen, but maybe…if I die holding this fan-made manga…will I be reborn again?" He smiled with the last of his strength. "I hope so…I really love my family and friends…"

Those were his last words.

XXX

A funeral was held for Senichi. A sakura tree was planted in the house's backyard and his ashes were buried near under it along with four drawings he had made: one with his family, one with his friends, one with Sable, and one of Michael Leo Field and his parents.

* * *

**The original ending was going to be MUCH sadder. Senichi was going to have ran away at the end of the final battle and then kill himself. Akai would've found his brother just as he had pulled the trigger.**

**Thank you everyone for reading until the end. **_**Fade to Darkness **_**was one of my favorite fanfictions to write, though there **_**are **_**some parts that are horribly written and it wasn't as great as it was in the beginning. My inspiration for this was LuckyLadyBug's fanfiction, **_**Breakdown. **_

**I'm rewriting this story with some differences. The revamped version will be published as a new story instead of replacing the chapters of this one. I have already posted the first chapter. The revamped fic is called _Scar(red)let Crow._**


End file.
